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"The fishermen's wives were employed in spreading out upon the flakes the fish that had been caught during the night, with the skins uppermost to protect them from moisture. They informed us that the season was unusually good this year, but the price of fish was low, so they would gain but little by this abundance. Last year, they said, fish sold at 15 and 16 shillings a quintal, (128 lbs..) but this year the price had gone down to 12 and 15 shillings. The value, let me here explain, is not so much regulated by the demand in foreign markets as by the will of the merchants of St. John's, who not only fix the price of fish they buy, but of the goods they sell the fishermen. They thus gain in both ways, and fatten rapidly on the toils and hardships of the most honest and simple-hearted race in the world. It is their policy always to keep the fishermen in debt to them, and the produce of the fishing season is often mortgaged to them in advance. It is an actual fact that these poor fishermen are obliged to pay for their flour, groceries, and provisions, from 50 to 100 per cent more than the rich and independent citizens of St. John's. It is no wonder, therefore, that the merchants amass large fortunes in the course of eight or ten years, while their virtual serfs remain as poor and as ignorant as their fathers before them. These things have been mentioned to me by more than one of the intelligent citizens of St. John's, and confirmed by the fishermen with whom I conversed on the subject. Several of the latter said to me, Ah, sir, if your people had the management of things here it would be better for us.'

The fishermen in some cases deliver their fish to the merchants cured; in others, the latter purchase the yield as it comes from the boats, and have the drying done upon their own flakes. The livers are usually sold separately to those merchants who carry on the manufacture of oil, instead of the old practice of boiling, which often imparts an unpleasant flavor to the oil. By the new process, it is perfectly pure, limpid, and tasteless. The dried cod, after having been assorted, are stored in warehouses ready to be shipped to foreign markets. The greatest demand is from Spain, Cuba, and the West Indies generally. The whole town is pervaded by the peculiar odor of fish, which even clings to the garments of those who deal in them. This odor, very unpleasant at first, becomes agreeable by familiarity, and finally the nostrils cease to take cognizance of it. St. John's is decidedly the most ancient and fish-like town in North America. I saw a man in the streets yesterday whose appearance and expression were precise y that of a dried codfish."

THE NEW YORK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE NEW REVENUE LAW. At a regular monthly meeting of the New York Chamber of Commerce on the 6th of June, 1856, Mr. David Ogden, from the committee on the new revenue law recently reported to Congress, stated that the committee had carefully reviewed this law, and regarded it in anything but a favorable light. They had also personally consulted with Secretary Guthrie on the subject, and at his request they had embodied their views in the form of a letter. The objections to the proposed law are numerous, and amongst other things exception is taken to the authority given to the Secretary of the Treasury in specifying what should be the build of vessels, which the committee think should be regulated by some xed plan. They consider that the oath of the managing owner ought to be sufficient in regard to manifests; and in view of the success of the experiment in England, ask why it would not do to abolish custom-house oaths. The proposed taxation of vessels at the rate of five cents a ton for the maintenance of marine hospitals, the fining and seizing of vessels for trifling misdemeanors, and the restriction against limited quantities of sugar and spirits brought into port, also come under the ban of the committee. After listening to the committee's statement, the Chamber adopted a resolution to the effect, “That the Chamber learn, with much concern, that a new

revenue law is now before Congress of a very objectionable nature as regards shipowners and importers ;" and it instructs its committee to watch its progress with care, and at their discretion to request the president to call a meeting of the Chamber.

THE LOUISVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

At the regular monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Louisville, Kentucky, held on Thursday evening, May 8th, 1856, JAMES TRABUE, Esq., being in the chair, the following resolutions, offered to the Chamber by B. CASSEDAY, Esq., were unanimously adopted :—

Resolved, That the thanks of the mercantile community are due to FREEMAN HUNT, Esq., for his laudable endeavor to improve the Commercial Literature of the country; and further,—

Resolved, That HUNT's Merchants' Magazine is, in the opinion of this Chamber, worthy of the support of every intelligent merchant.

L. WOODBURY FISKE, Secretary.

JAS. TRABUE, President. The intelligent and enterprising members of the Louisville Chamber will accept our hearty thanks for their voluntary and cordial recognition of our humble efforts in the department of literature, to which we have devoted the past eighteen years of our life. Such testimonials are duly appreciated, and will not soon be forgotten.

THE CLEVELAND COMMERCIAL GAZETTE.

S. S. BARRY, Esq., the editor and publisher of the "Cleveland Commercial Gazelle and Marine Record of the Lakes," proposes that the Board of Trade, in Cleveland, subscribe and pay for 200 copies of that paper, to be sent regularly to to the several Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce, and Reading Rooms in the United States. The expense for one year is only $104. The Commercial Gazette is, we have no hesitation in saying, one of the best and most reliable journals of its class in any of our Western cities; and if the merchants of Cleveland understand their interests, as we have no doubt they do, the proposition of Mr. Barry will be adopted.

BENEFIT OF ADVERTISING.

A Western cotemporary furnishes the following statement in illustration of the beneficial effects of advertising :

"Some ten years since, when Detroit was very little if any larger than Toledo, two young men from the East, where the true principle of advertising is better understood than at the West, having taken a store centrally situated, they opened with the determination of expending their entire profits, except rent and clerk hire, for the first year, in advertising and printing. They did so, expending about $1.400. The next year they set apart half their profits for the same purpose, but long before the year expired, the senior partner told the writer of this article, that they could not expend as much, as they could find no place to put it.

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Every paper in the State almost contained their business notices, while their handbills, circulars, and cards were scattered broadcast. In this way they have gone on expending annually about four thousand dollars, until their business is so increased that they occupy ten sale-rooms, each 100 feet in depth by 25 in width, and giving employment to 100 clerks. One of the partners told us that his business the past year amounted to a trifle over a million-and-a-half of dollars."

THE BOOK TARDE.

1-A Critical Dictionary of English Literature, and British and American Authors, Living and Deceased, from the Earliest Accounts to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century; containing thirty thousand Biographies and Literary Notices. By S. AUSTIN ALLIBONE. Imperial 8vo., pp. 1,460. Philadelphia: Childs & Peterson.

This large and important work is a striking illustration of the remark of Sidney Smith, that literary pursuits may be very advantageously combined with business habits. Mr. S. Austin Alibone, its author, is not an “ author by profession," but a Philadelphia merchant, in a large way of business, to whom ledger and literature are alike familiar. After posting one set of books, it would seem, he opens accounts of a different character in others, and transfers his attention from bales and accounts to books and authors. Thus, commerce and criticism, pleasantly harmonized, jog jauntily along together-Duty lending a dignity to Pleasure, and Pleasure the more enjoyed because it goes side by side with Duty. What Webster's or Dr. Johnson's Dictionary is to the words of the language, this Critical Dictionary will be to its authors and its literature, and the labors of Mr. Alibone, in getting up his book, must have been almost as great as that of either of the two celebrated lexicographers whom we have named. It was no easy task to explore the great ocean of literature, and from its depths or stores draw forth and gather every object worthy of preservation, for the purpose of depositing them in a Biographical and Critical Museum, so catalogued and arranged that the every-day reader might, without trouble to himself, view at a glance any particular author and his works. This gigantic task Mr. Alibone has accomplished in a manner which entitles him to the praise, nay, the gratitude, of the entire reading community. The Critical Dictionary has a three-fold value. Do we wish to be informed respecting the life of any particular author? That information is full and satisfactorily supplied. Of course, in a volume of such magnitude, generalities could only be dealt with, but enough in all cases is given to make us acquainted with the leading incidents of the author's career. These lives are given at greater or less length, according to the importance of their subjects in a literary point of view. Should the reader be bibliographically inclined, he will, from these pages, gather full and important particulars of the works, various editions, dates of publication, and the like, of the authors named. This portion of Mr. Alibone's work is especially valuable to students, who sometimes find it exceedingly difficult to procure reliable information on such matters. And for those who relish sound criticism, there are quoted the best opinions from the best critics on the principal works of the authors named in the text. From these remarks, it will be evident that the Critical Dictionary is most comprehensive in its design, and we will add, masterly in its execution. In no other work extant, either in this country or in Europe, is to be found similar advantages. Although the information it affords is comprised within one volume, it contains the matter of thirty duodecimo volumes of 300 pages each. Testimonials to the value of the book have been given by Washington Irving, W. H. Prescott, W. C. Bryant, Jared Sparks, Edward Everett, F. Lieber, and Thomas Hartwell Horne, one of the chief librarians of the British Museum. Mr. Horne is perhaps the first of living bibliographers, and therefore his testimony is peculiarly valuable. 2.-Study for Young Men; or a Sketch of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton. By Rev. THOMAS BINNEY. 18mo., pp. 149. Boston: Crosby, Nichols & Co. This little volume is the enlargement of a lecture delivered before the Young Men's Christian Association at Exeter Hall, London, and is one of a series instituted by that Association, in connection with other efforts, for the improvement of the spiritual and mental condition of commercial young men." It furnishes a spirited and instructive sketch of an admirable man, whose example cannot fail of benefiting the rising generation of American as well as English merchants.

3.—The Life and Travels of Herodotus in the Fifth Century Before Christ. An Imaginary Biography founded on Fact, etc., etc. By J. TALBOYS Wheeler, F. R. G. S., author of the "Geography of Herodotus," etc. 2 vols., 12mo., pp. 445 and 446. New York: Harper & Brothers.

The design of the present work, as stated by the author's introduction, is to give, in a popular form, a complete survey of the principal nations of the ancient world, as they were in the days of Pericles and Nehemiah. With this view. Mr. Wheeler has written an imaginary biography of Herodotus, the Greek historian and Geographer, and describing his supposed travels to the most famous cities and countries of antiquity, he reviews their several histories, narrates their national traditions, describes the appearance of each people, points out their peculiarities and manners, and develops the various religious views and ideas which belong to their several mythologies. The author takes Herodotus to Persepolis and Jerusalem, and brings him into contact with Nehemiah, “for the sake of connecting the sacred history of the world with the profane." It is designed as a sort of introduction to the study of ancient history, and the author has sought to clear that history from the dust of the schools, and teach it in shady play-grounds and flowery gardens."

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4.-Confessions of the Blind Heart.

A Domestic Story. By WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS, Esq., author of "Guy Rivers," " Richard Hurdis," " Border Beagles," Beauchampe," "Katherine Walton," "The Scout," etc. 12mo., pp. 389. New York: J. S. Redfield.

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This is the sixth of Mr. Simms's series of Border Romances of the South. Portions of the narrative, we are informed, were among the earliest prose writings of the author. The materials were gathered from facts in a domestic history, the sources of which the author believes to be unquestionable, and some of the events occurred under his own observation. The present work, to quote from the author's introduction, "partakes of few of the features of that school of Dumas, and Reynolds, and Ainsworth," (and in our judgment it is all the better that it does not.) in which the heart is made to soar out its hopes in sufferings, under incessant provocation and stimulus. It has its "disastrous chances," but with few of those "moving accidents by flood and field "-those hair-breadth escapeswhich so garnish in general the tales of these popular writers.

Historical and Biographical.
Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

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5.-The British Essayists; with Prefaces, A. CHALMERS, F. S. A. 18mo. volumes. In a former number of the Merchants' Magazine we noticed the appearance of the "Tatler," the first four volumes of this edition of the British Essayists. We have now before us the "Spectator," in seven volumes. These are to be followed, in rapid succession, by the "Guardian," "Rambler," " Adventurer," "World," “Connoisseur," "Titler," "Mirror," "Lounger," "Observer," and Looker-On," which will complete the series in thirty-eight volumes. They are of the exact size and style of the same publishers' unrivaled edition of the British Poets," and sold at the same price-that is, seventy-five cents per volume. Most of the "Essayists" embraced in the series are justly regarded as models of chaste and good English; and abounding in pure and pleasing thoughts and sentiments, they must ever be prized as among the choicest treasures of literature.

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6.- Poems. By RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH. 12mo., pp. 236. New York: J. S. Redfield.

The author of this volume is better known in this country as the writer of several prose works, viz.: the "Study of Words," "Lessons in Proverbs," "Synonyms of the New Testament," "English, Past and Present," &c., all works of decided merit, and evincing most thorough scholarship. The present collection of his poems shows him to be a poet "worthy to rank with the Herberts, the Hebers, the Kebles, and others of the clergy, who have given utterance to strains of poesy as charming and soothing as they are instructive and elevating." The highest literary authorities in England place Mr. Trench at the head of religious poets of the day. The volume is produced in Redfield's usual unique and elegant style.

7-The Last Seven Years of the Life of Henry Clay. LL. D., Professor of Public Economy, Trinity College. York: A. S. Barnes & Co.

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This volume, as its title implies, comprises a full account of the last seven years of Mr. Clay's life, which is regarded by the author as the most important period of that great statesman's career. "It is now eleven years," says Mr. Colton, "since I published the Life and Times of Henry Clay, in two volumes, bringing his biography and history down to the end of the Presidential Campaign of 1844." The present work is a continuation from that date. This volume naturally occu pies the third place in the author's works on Mr. Clay, and the Private Correspondence the fourth, embracing, as a whole, The Life and Correspondence of Henry Clay. We are glad to learn that Mr. Colton proposes to edit Mr. Clay's speeches, in two volumes, with an historical introduction at the head of each speech, which will make a work of six volumes, uniform, and which, when complete, will comprise The Life, Correspondence, and Speeches of Henry Clay. Mr. Colton spent some time with Mr. Clay, and his labors prior to his death were performed with the approval of his subject. The present volume fills an interesting and important gap, not only in the life of the statesman, but in the political history of the country.

8.-The Book of Ecclesiastes Explained

By JAMES M. MACDONALD, D. D.,

Princeton, New Jersey. 12mo., pp. 414. New York: M. W. Dodd. Volames have been written by learned theologians to explain a simple and obscure passage in the Bible, and the religions world made none the wiser for it. The present volume is devoted to the explanation of an eminently practical book of the Old Testament," supposed to have been written by Solomon, a man of large and varied experience. Dr. Macdonald, though learned in theological lore, has attempted to make his work useful to those who are not capable of appreciating criticisms upon the etymology of words, and the construction of sentences in the language in which the "book" was written. He aims to give a more distinct and enlarged statement of the practical teachings and devotional bearings of the Scriptures.

9.—The Rise and Progress of the English Constitution. By E. S. CREASY, M. A., Barrister-at-Law, Professor of History in the University College, London, late Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. 18mo. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

Although it cannot be produced in full written form, like that of our own country, England undoubtedly has a constitution, with great primeval and enduring principles. These the author of the present volume has attempted to arrange in a simple form, and place before the reader in a few easily accessible pages. He proves their antiquity, illustrates their development, and points out their value. We regard it as a concise and, at the same time, clear and comprehensive history of the rise and progress of the constitutional principles of England, and as such cannot fail of proving interesting and instructive to the American student of political history.

10.--Homeopathy Simplified; or Domestic Practice made Easy. Containing explicit Directions for the Treatment of Disease, the Management of Accidents, and the Preservation of Health. By JOHN A. TARBELL, A. M., M. D. 12mo., pp. 360. Boston: Sanborn, Carter, & Bazin.

The title sufficiently explains the character of this volume. It is just such a book as every intelligent IIomeopathist would wish to have at hand.

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11.-The Story of the War in La Vendee and the Little Chouannerie. GEORGE J. HILL, M. A. 12mo., pp. 324. New York: D. & J. Sadlier & Co.

A Catholic story with an historical basis, the materials being gathered from the various extant sources. The Catholic public are under many obligations to the Messrs. Sadliers for the additions they have made to the literature of "the church."

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