subject he remarks:-"The solidity of the buildings in the cities, the immense quantities of produce brought to the sea-ports, the activity of the people, and their liberal, I might say, their profuse expenditure, led me to form a high opinion of the great natural resources of the country. With longer experience, and with more information, those opinions were much modified. The country is not so rich as it seems to be at first sight, though its wealth is more equally diffused than in England, and is much more freely expended.

"I would here venture to make a remark which more properly should have formed a part of the text. The New Englanders-the Yankees, properly so called-are essentially a commercial people. Their natural inclinations lead them to trade-to manufacture-to drive a bargain-to speculate. To secure a field for the exercise of this their peculiar talent, they have encouraged, and succeeded in establishing, an illiberal commercial policy throughout the Union, under favor of which, undertakings of various kinds have thriven that otherwise would not have existed for many months. By means of protection, undertakings have been fostered that are a tax upon the community; and their profits have been made at the expense of the nation. Hence, capital has been diverted to unnatural channels, and the average rate of profit has been diminished throughout the Union.

"On this account, the New England States, to some extent Pennsylvania, and part of Louisiana, may be said to be burdens on the industry of the other States in the Union, and to prosper at their expense. Were the other States to inaugurate a more liberal policy, and to introduce the principles of free trade, I venture to believe that in a few years the population of the New England States would be considerably diminished, and that in the meantime, emigration would go on towards the West as actively as it has done in recent years from Ireland.”

The people of the United States are not only "profuse " in their "expenditures," but extravagant to a degree amounting to prodigality. We sincerely believe that Americans, particularly in the city of New York, are the most extravagant people on the face of the earth. There are men, merchants in that city, who live in houses costing $100,000, and expend at the rate of $25,000 or $30,000 per annum, and some of the wives of these men and merchants wear thousand-dollar shawls, and other things to match. The sound, wholesome, prudential, and economical proverbs of honest Ben Franklin are repudiated, and we have heard them designated as "scoundrel maxims."

Without, however, moralizing on the extravagance of our people, we proceed to give a few brief extracts from Mr. Robertson's book, with special reference to the several commercial and industrial cities of "the States." We begin (in the order of his travels) with the city of New York, the point at which he arrived on the 29th of November, 1853:—

BROADWAY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF NEW YORK.

"As New York may be said to represent America, so may Broadway be said to represent New York. At one end, it is the center of the Commerce of the city, and at the other, of its fashion. It contains the handsomest buildings in the city; all the large hotels, some of the large stores, and all the most fashionable and most expensive shops. At the south end its pavement is busied with mercantile men, in active pursuit of their business, and its center is crowded with omnibuses freighted with passengers, and wagons loaded with goods. Be

yond its commercial limits, the omnibuses still continue to ply, but largely interspersed with brilliant equipages; and its side-walks are thronged with ladies, richly, I might almost say gaudily, dressed, whose chief occupation seems to be, to admire the tempting wares which are exhibited in the shop windows, and to spend the money which their husbands or other relatives strive to make at the lower end of the street. Thus one end of Broadway may be said to represent the active commercial spirit of the city, and the other its extravagance and gaiety.

The other parts of the city proper have no special attractions, except for their Commerce; but in the northern end, many of the streets contain very handsome houses, the residences of the wealthier merchants."

What our author says of the "excessive filthiness" of New York city, it must be admitted is generally just, although that filthiness has been somewhat abated under the energetic and efficient administration of Mayor WOOD.

FILTHINESS OF NEW YORK,

"A great drawback to the attractiveness of New York arises from its excessive filthiness. Till I went there I had never seen such a dirty city. Although the weather was then fine, and it had been dry for some time previously, yet parts of some of the streets were almost impassable from mud and pools of dirty water. Many of the streets had not been cleaned for years, and although the citizens complained bitterly of the nuisance, their remonstances passed unheeded. Even Broadway, the resort of the beautiful, the gay, and the fashionable, in some places was not much better than others. Opposite the hotel at which I lived, there was a large pool of water at least 200 feet in length, and of width sufficient to prevent any one from attempting to leap across it without the risk of going up to the ankles. In other parts of Broadway matters were not much better; and I have seen some of the inhabitants not hesitate to throw their ashes and dirty water into the middle of the street."

Mr. R. then goes on to show that the state of things above described did not arise from scarcity of means at command to effect improvement, quoting from official documents the taxes levied in the city, which he considers unusually large."

On his return to the city in the spring of 1854, he found Broadway "in the most beautiful order," presenting a striking contrast to what it had been six months before."

As a contrast to the expenditure of the city of New York, Mr. Robertson says that Manchester, (England,) with a population of more than half that of New York, amounted in 1853, exclusive of poor-rates, to £101,222, a little more than $500,000; while the taxes levied in New York in 1853 amounted to $5,067,275, of which sum $4,704,789 were collected, and of this amount $3,311,741 were appropriated for the expenditure of the city government. By refering to Controller Flagg's report for the year ending June 30th, 1854, we find that the expenditures for that year were $3,706,593, or upwards of $3,000,000 more than the city of Manchester, with more than half the population. And yet, Mr. Robertson affirms, and we place entire confidence in his statement, "that in respect to the efficiency of its police force, and its fire department, the cleanliness of its streets, its pavements, its general sanitary condition, and indeed the entire administration of its municipal affairs, Manchester is under far better management than New York."

With one more extract from the chapter devoted to New York, we pass on to other cities visited by the author:

CHARACTER OF NEW YORK MERCHANTS, ETC.

"For that activity, and what they themselves denominate smartness,' the New York men of business claim pre-eminence in the Union, and I believe they do so with much justice. The extent and variety of the New York Commerce, and the multitude of people with whom the merchants come in contact, favor confidence in themselves, quickness of apprehension, and promptitude in action, and these are the qualities which form the character of a smart man. It may be questioned, however, whether these qualities form the character of a merchant, properly so called; or, whether the turmoil and constant excitement in which New York business is carried on, is favorable to the prudent management of those operations which require much consideration and foresight. Hence, as is contended by some conversant with the business of New York, much of that more properly called mercantile-in contradistinction to that conducted by dealers and commission agents-and extending to a distant period, is conducted by merchants in Boston and Philadelphia. Undoubtedly most of the trade of the port is carried on by merchants resident there, but as New York offers the best point for shipment of home produce, and for the distribution to the interior of foreign commodities, merchants of the other cities I have named, transact much of their business through this city, finding it to afford them the largest, and frequently the most advantageous market.

"As a specimen of the smartness of New York men, I may repeat what was related to me by a German merchant, who had opportunities of knowing something of the nature of the Commerce of the city.

"A dealer has a quantity of goods which he is anxious to sell. A buyer presents himself, but his credit is not undoubted. Wishing, however, to secure the sale of his goods, and at the same time desirous of avoiding any undue risk with the buyer's long-dated acceptance, the dealer endeavors to find out at what rate this acceptance can be sold on the street.' If, though that should be at a high rate of discount, there still remain a profit on the sale, that is at once effected, and the transaction is closed. With the acceptance he has no further concern; for as selling a bill on the street means 'without recourse,' his liability ceases when the bill passes out of his possession."

From statistics derived chiefly from the Merchants' Magazine, Mr. Robertson exhibits in a comprehensive form the sudden rise and unprecedented progress of the Commerce of New York. "The proud position," he says, now occupied by New York as the first commercial city of the New World, insures it a still more rapid progress and yet higher pre-eminence. On the evening of the 14th of November, 1853, Mr. Robertson left New York for Philadelphia, and devotes some dozen pages of his book to its population, Commerce, industry, and other matters of kindred interest.

PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK CONTRASTED.

"A marked change is perceptible in the character of the people, in comparison with what is seen in New York. The streets are much less bustling, and the tone of the place altogether much more subdued, partaking, as one might almost suppose, somewhat of the quiet earnestness peculiar to its founders. In population, wealth, enterprise, and activity, it is inferior to New York; and its progress in recent years, though very striking, has been much less rapid. However, as the port of a State, scarcely second to any in agricultural, as well as mineral wealth, it will, with the development of these resources, become a city of much importance.

"Till about the year 1820, Philadelphia was the largest city in the States; but about that period it was outstripped by its great rival New York, and every year since that time, the disproportion between them has become more and more marked. Still its progress has been very striking; and in almost any other country in the world would have excited surprise.

"The condition of the population of Philadelphia does not present the same

extremes of wealth and poverty-luxury and misery-that is to be found in New York. Though it has a smaller population, it has more houses-an indication of the more comfortable circumstances of the masses; and in consequence, it may be, of the small immigration at this port."

FOREIGN COMMERCE OF PHILADELPHIA.

"The foreign Commerce of the city does not show the same progress as its population, and is no indication of its wealth. Indeed, in comparison with the earlier years of the century, it would be difficult to say whether it has increased or diminished. Till very recently it had declined, but within the last three or four years a favorable change has taken place.

"By the recent extension of their communications with the West, the inhabitants are sanguine that their city will become a large market for the distribution of foreign merchandise. Indeed, it is that already, but its supplies are to a large extent received at second hand in New York. The merchants are now striving to emancipate themselves from this dependence on their rival, and by the appointment of a line of screw ocean steamers, bringing them into direct intercourse with Europe, they expect to bring direct to their port a large portion of those commodities which have heretofore reached them through other channels. These improvements in their internal communications, and foreign intercourse, will, at the same time, favor the increase of the export trade of the city.

"The imports consist of dry goods, iron, cotton, sugar, and other articles of general domestic consumption, most of which till recently was used within the State. By the improvement of the railways and canals, a considerable portion of the imports are now forwarded for distribution in the West.

"The exports consist of wheat, flour, corn, provisions, coal, &c., nearly all of which are the productions of the State, for thus far a very small portion of the heavy products of the West find this route a convenient outlet to the sea. The exports of breadstuffs alone, in 1853, were worth $3,736,098; and, in 1852, there were shipped from Richmond-which almost joins Philadelphia-1,236,649 tons of coal."

PHILADELPHIA AS A MANUFACTURING CITY.

"As a manufacturing city, Philadelphia occupies the second place in the Union. In 1850, she had $33,737,911 capital invested in manufactures. At the several establishments 59,106 people were employed, and the value of the produce of their labor amounted to $64,114,112. This information is derived from the census, but, in the report of the Philadelphia Board of Trade, it has been shown that the statements in the census are very imperfect and unreliable, and that, in reality, the manufactures of the city are greater than here shown.”

With a few more paragraphs from Mr. Robertson's book, touching the "industrial and commercial interests of Philadelphia," we bring the present paper to a close. These extracts, as will be seen, relate to the several causes which have combined, in the author's estimation, to injure the trade of Philadelphia. These causes, he says, were

"The opening of the Erie Canal, which brought New York into easy and cheap communication with the West, drawing the traffic of those immense regions to its harbor; the mineral wealth of the State of Pennsylvania, to the development of which the attention and capital of its merchants were too largely directed, at an early period, and before other circumstances rendered it possible that the mines could be worked--the capital being diverted from the more legitimate trade of the city and port; and finally the failure of the United States Bank, and the ruin in which it involved the capitalists of the State.

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Philadelphia is in nearer communication with the West than New York, even with Lake Erie, and much more so with the Ohio and the far West; and therefore, had its citizens been attentive to their own interests, they would not have lost the opportunity of drawing to their harbor the products of the West. While, however, New York pressed forward its great undertaking, the Erie Canal, the

Philadelphians looked idly on, and were made sensible of the consequences of their neglect, only when too late to remedy their error. The bulky and heavy produce of the West--the products of agriculture and of the forest-will seek the cheapest route to the sea-board, and that is obtained by the Erie Canal. For the conveyance of such articles other channels can be merely supplementary to that route.

"The extensive introduction of railways into the States led many to believe that, as Philadelphia was at a less distance from the leading points of the West than New York, she might be able, by her railway connections, to recover much of the carrying trade, which rightly belonged to her situation, but which, by the opening of the Erie Canal, had slipped out of her hands. This expectation is more sanguine than reasonable. For the carriage of articles of country produce, of great bulk and weight in proportion to their value, and which have to be conveyed a long distance, canals seem to offer the cheapest, though not the most expeditious route; and at the points of transhipment, either on the lakes, rivers, or on the sea-board, they present greater facilities for the loading and unloading of cargoes than can be offered at any railway terminus; and those facilities are obtained at a much smaller cost--an important consideration where cheapness alone can enable the trade to be pursued to advantage. To these add, that the quantities of produce coming forward annually is much greater than can be readily conveyed by any ordinary channel.

"When the New York Canal and the railways which connect that city with Lake Erie are completed, they will have the capacity of carrying to the east coast in a season 9,000,000 tons of produce, while the railways of the State of Pennsylvania, running to the same quarter, can carry only 1,700,000 tons. True enough, other works are in progress, or in contemplation, which will enlarge her carrying power to between five and six million tons per annum, but they will not be in operation for some years to come.

"The goods carried westward are very much ligher in proportion to their value than those brought to the east, and consequently are of far less total weight. In that case, cost of carriage will not add nearly so much to their value. It is therefore highly probable that, from Philadelphia being nearer to the West, and, indeed, in the line of direct communication between New York and the Ohio, she may supply that great valley with a large portion of the goods received from the east coast. Indeed, she now claims to be the great distributor of the West, but with more enterprise on the part of her merchants, she may bereafter make that claim with more solid pretensions.

"The natural and acquired advantages of New York city, and the position she now occupies, will, for a long period, if not entirely, defeat any hopes that may be entertained in Philadelphia of competing with her with any success, even in the import trade. Still, the position Philadelphia holds in respect to the West, ought to encourage her merchants to make an effort to diminish the disparity now existing between the Commerce of the two cities.

"The distance of Philadelphia from the ocean-nearly one hundred miles-and the limited accommodation afforded by her harbor, are by many deemed insuperable obstacles to her ever becoming a great commercial city. Those obstacles are, however, only apparent, for the Delaware is at all times navigable to the largest merchantmen, and the wharves can be extended to double their present length. After the all but insurmountable obstructions which were removed in the improvement of the navigation of the Clyde, by the enterprise of the merchants of Glasgow, and after the triumphant success which has resulted from that undertaking, the citizens of Philadelphia have no need to fear for the prosperity of their city, if they be only true to themselves.

"By the opening up and extension of their western communications, by railways and canals; by the improvement and enlargement of their river and harbor; and by the encouragement of increased intercourse with Europe—in all of which undertakings they are now embarked-they will go far to recover much of that commercial prosperity which was lost through neglect or mismanagement, and they wil! come near to realize some of those hopes, which they so generally and so very sanguinely entertain."