sition with the hemp and flax of Europe will be observed the textile materials of the equinoctial regions of the globe; beside the precious metals of Mexico, Peru, Chili, and California, will glitter the gold of Siberia and Transylvania, the iron and tin of Great Britain, the silver of Germany, and the mineral produce of France; the woolens of Hungary, Saxony, and Spain will be contrasted with those of Australia, and the furs of Siberia with those of Canada; and the spectacle will be rendered complete by the addition of the spices of the Levant, the olives of the borders of the Mediterranean, the grapes or the vintages of all growths, grain of all sorts, from the corn of Poland, Southern Russia, and Sicily, to the rice of Carolina, Piedmont, China, and India, to the maize of Mexico, Turkey, and the United States of America.

In this gigantic exhibition will be included steam engines, from the locomotive to the exhausting machine of Cornounaille; looms for the manufacture of cloth, from those of Manchester and Lowell, to the rude apparatus of the Indian weaver; implements of agriculture and trade, and the most delicately manufactured scientific instruments, both those of Gambey and those of the successors of Ramsden.

Every sort of fabric, every kind of art, from the rudest and most clumsy to the most refined and delicate specimen, from the most primitive contrivance to one in which taste and imagination shall be displayed in the highest degree; everything will be received and exhibited in the most favorable light, from whatever country it may have been transmitted.

The hospitality of Great Britain is offered to all that the industrious inhabitants of the planet are capable of producing.

The impulse has already been given in the British empire. The directors of the powerful company which rules the Indies have already despatched to their immense empire all the necessary orders for the transmission from those remote regions-which were the cradle of the arts-of their contingent to this great and interesting solemnity.

It will certainly be no light honor to be distinguished in the midst of competitors so numerous by a jury of independent and influential men. The medals of the exhibition of London will be titles of which the possessor will have every reason to be proud. But there will be something more than mere medals. Great prizes will be awarded to those who, by advancing art, have thereby rendered a service to civilization. There will be a prize of £2,000, and four of £1,000 for the four great divisions that appear to be already adopted,―raw materials or agricultural articles, machinery, manufactured articles, and sculptures, and works of art in general.

This exhibition, according to the idea of those who are its promoters, will be renewed quinquennially, as in France. The expense will not be charged to the state. The government will merely be asked to grant a site, on which will be erected a temporary edifice for the exhibition, as in our Champs Elysees; but it may be imagined, from the particulars already adduced, what its extent will be. The funds will be raised by subscription, and it is estimated that £100,000 will be sufficient. In this manner the politeness shown to the other nations of the world will be more spontaneous and cordial.

AN EXPERIMENT WITH SEMI-BITUMINOUS COAL.

An interesting an important experiment, as we learn from the Harrisburg Telegraph, was recently made at Harrisburg, (Penn..) on a locomotive on the railroad, with the semi-bituminous coal of the Dauphin and Susquehanna Company. The fire was regulated by Mr. Kirk Few, the superintendent of the Harrisburg and Mount Joy Railroad Company, accompanied by several gentlemen interested in the application of this fuel for steaming purposes. Although the fire box was constructed for the use of wood, the combustion of the coal was so rapid, and the flame so intense, that steam was generated to an excess that required to be blown off frequently. The whole trial was completely successful, and Mr. Few expressed his entire satisfaction that it would accomplish all that could be desired for driving locomotives-that it was indeed the perfection of fuel for this purpose. Even while going up grade, and both pumps supplying water to the boiler, the steam was in such excess as to be required to be blown off. It is gratifying for us to state that the railroad to the mines is now finished, and that an inexhaustible supply awaits the industry of the miner to bring it to the Harrisburg market, which, being the center from which canals and railroads radiate in all direc tions, will supply a want already severely felt in the scarcity and dearness of wood.

ROLLING MILLS IN AND NEAR CINCINNATI.

The "Cincinnati Price Current” has commenced the publication of a series of short articles, which the editors propose to continue as they may be able to collect the facts, relative to manufactures in the West, and more particularly of Cincinnati. Introductory to this series, the editors of the Price Current justly remark:

"The situation of Cincinnati, as a commercial city, and her resources, both natural and acquired, render this the most desirable location in the west for manufactures. Hence it is that she is rapidly approaching that point in mauufactures to which she long since attained in commerce. It may, we think, be truly said that Cincinnati is the Gotham of the west. In regard to manufactures, she has many superior advantages over sister cities; situated in a State, or we may say, the midst of States, abounding in both agricultural and mineral products, where employment for the masses is abundant, varied, and profitable, the merchant, farmer, miner, and mechanic, all have their respective fields of labor. The soil is most productive, and beneath it the earth abounds in coal and iron, which furnish the principal material for the manufacturer. But these are only her natural advantages. With every portion, almost, of our own and adjoining States there is constant and cheap communication. Canals or railroads, running east, west and north, from this city, makes it the center of a large and thickly populated country; besides, there are the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and their tributaries, which are navigated in every direction; so that, by either river, railroad, or canal, access is had to every city or town in the western country. The population of the west is being rapidly extended; and where, a few years ago, the Indian might have stood, and almost exclaimed, with Selkirk,

"From the centre, all round to the sea,

I am lord of the fowl and the brute,"

cities and towns are springing up " as if by magic." With the increase of population there must be an increased demand for manufactures; and with all the resources and advantages of the west, the east should not supply her citizens with those articles for which we have been accustomed to look to New England and the north Atlantic States.

"So accustomed have we been to look to, and depend upon Pittsburg, for supplies of iron, that very many of the western people have supposed all the iron sold in this market was of Pittsburg manufacture. Such, however, is not the fact, as will be seen by the statement appended. There are, it will be seen, ten Rolling Mills, in and near Cincinnati, all of which depend on, and find a market in Cincinnati for their products. These produce near 22,000 tons of iron, annually, the yearly value of which falls but little short of two million dollars,"

The statement we here give of the several mills, their location, etc., we have obtained from the most reliable sources.

STATEMENT OF TEN ROLLING MILLS, IN AND NEAR CINCINNATI.

Works in the table marked (a) manufacture Bar and Sheet Iron; those marked (b) Sheet and Plate Iron; those marked (e) Bar and Sheet Iron, and Nails; those marked (d) Bar and Sheet Iron, and Wire; those marked (e) Bar Iron.

MANUFACTURES OF DAYTON, OHIO.

Dayton has a population of about 15,000, and is located in the heart of one of the richest agricultural sections of the west. A Dayton correspondent of the Ohio Statesman gives the following exhibit of the manufactures of Dayton:

There are five oil mills that purchase from the farmers about 160,000 bushels of flax seed annually, at a cost of $160,000, producing 340,000 gallons of oil, and 400,000 lbs. of oil cake, and employing in the business from forty to fifty hands, besides twenty coopers to furnish them with barrels. The five iron foundries give permanent employment to 100 hands, and cast annually nearly 900 tons of pig iron. The four flouring mills grind annually from 150,000 to 170,000 bushels of wheat. A last and peg factory turn out some $20,000 worth of stock yearly, which gives constant profitable employment to twenty-five hands, and produce every variety of goods in that line, possessing a very superior finish. Woolen machinery, such as carding machines, power looms, spring jacks, &c., are manufactured after the most approved eastern patterns. Carpets and coverlets of a great variety of patterns, and style of finish, are made, and the proprietor of this establishment has some difficulty to supply the orders that are given for his goods, tey being in such great demand. A large capital has lately been invested in establishing a linen factory, which is destined, under proper management, to become a great auxiliary to the agriculture of Montgomery county, as it will supply a cash market for the fiber of the flax plant, which up to this time, has been thrown away as useless. The cotton and woolen factories give employment to a great number of hands, mostly girls and boys, and both branches are in a flourishing condition. Three paper mills give employment to between 40 and 50 hands, manufacturing nearly 500 tons of paper, which net the establishments about $80,000 per

annum.

THE MINING PROSPECTS OF ENGLAND.

The London Mining Journal, in speaking of the subject of which it is the special weekly organ, says, that to whatever part of the mining horizon of England it looks, there business is characterized by great steadiness and regularity in all its departments; that it is able to testify to the firmness of prices and the vivacity of the markets generally; and that there are prospects for a good winter trade. The same journal, in noticing a rise of 10s. per ton on the price of lead, and the spirited demand at the periodical sale at Holywell, November, 1849, when a large quantity of ore was brought forward and sold, observes:-" As this improvement in trade is mainly attributed to the large demand that has arisen for export this year to the United States of America, it may be serviceable to those of our readers who are interested in this metal to learn that we have been informed by an intelligent correspondent on the other side, that the production of the mines in the United States has so materially fallen off, while the amount of consumption has so greatly increased, that they will require an importation during the next year of at least 15,000 tons to meet the wants of the country. Such an export in the present state of the stocks here, must have the effect of producing a considerable advance in the price of lead."

THE CLIFF COPPER MINE OF LAKE SUPERIOR.

It appears from a statement of Col. McKnight, that the yield of the Cliff Copper Mine, last year, (1849,) amounted to one thousand tons. This copper is shipped in large masses, some weighing as high as three tons. It goes to Pittsburg, (Penn.,) where it is melted into ingots, and from thence to the Atlantic cities, where it meets a ready and constant market. The yield of this thousand tons will be some 75 per cent, making the product of ingot copper 750 tons, which is worth $380 per ton, and which, shows the product of the mine for the year 1849 to be as follows:

750 tons of copper at $380 per ton..

Deduct expenses, $7,000 per month...

Leaves nett profit....

$285,000

84,000

$201,000

The stock of this company, (the Boston and Pittsburg Mining,) is divided into 4,000 shares, which cost originally $18 50 per share, and on which a dividend of $20 per share will be declared this year, leaving in the treasury money enough to nearly pay the expenses for another year. The stockholders of the Boston and Pittsburg Company, as we learn from the Detroit Tribune, expended the sum of $110,000, before they obtained any results.

MANUFACTURE OF PAINTS FROM ZINC.

We learn from the Newark (N. J.) Daily Advertiser, that the Sussex Zinc Company, of Newark, have been for some time past experimenting in the manufacture of this article, with such satisfactory results, that the zinc paint, which is the white oxide of zinc, will be one of the chief articles of manufacture at the large works which they are about to erect on the banks of the Passaic. The ore of the Sussex mines is said to be of such a nature, that the white oxide can be made from it without the necessity of first reducing it to the metallic state, which is necessary in France, and it can therefore be made at less cost.

The process of making the paint is interesting. The ore is pulverized and mixed with a small proportion of anthracite or charcoal, as a flux; and about forty pounds is used as a charge for a cylindrical retort made of clay, three and a half feet in length, and is eight inches in diameter. The retort is placed in a reverberatory furnace horizontally, one end being exposed by an opening in the furnace wall: a sheet-iron receiver is attached to the mouth of the retort, having an opening at the neck to admit atmospheric air. The receiver is elongated by flexible tubes that serve as additional receivers, and also to carry off the carbonic oxide. When the proper heat is applied, the zinc is set free from the ore, and conveyed into the receiver as a vapor of zinc, where, meeting the current of atmospheric air, from which it takes up the oxygen, it falls at once as a beautiful powder of pearly whiteness.

The small furnace now works four retorts. The metallic zinc is made in the same manner, with the exception that in the latter case the air necessary to form the oxide is entirely excluded. The furnace to be erected on the river is to work one hundred and eight retorts. The white paint, which has been tried, is said to be more durable than that made from white lead, and less liable to turn dark. It is a somewhat different shade of white from the paint made of white lead.

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.

BANKRUPTCY IN BATAVIA, ISLAND OF JAVA.

We are indebted to an esteemed correspondent, a highly respectable merchant of Boston, for several extracts from the manuscript of a private letter, dated Batavia, (Island of Java,) September 22d, 1849. It was received just as the last sheet of the Merchants' Magazine was going to press, or we should publish the extracts entire. As it is, we can only find room for a few passages, touching the condition of a bankrupt in that island, as follows:

To be bankrupt here, is a somewhat different affair from what it is in the United States. Immediately on becoming bankrupt, the names of the parties are placarded about town, and in the Exchange, as if prima facie infamous. The books are then examined by the public officer for that purpose. If the estate does not pay 60 per cent, and the bankrupt can be proved to have done business after he knew that fact, he is put into prison, as a criminal, for a number of years, and declared “aloost," which signifies infamous, or without character. After this, the "aloost" person is indeed excommunicated. His word is not to be taken; he is not allowed to be a witness, even on oath, and if a man trusts him, he does it at his own risk; he has no legal remedy against him. On the other hand, if a man takes his books to the public officer, and declares that he has given up all he has, and it does not appear that he has been doing business, knowing he was a bankrupt, and after a strict investigation there are no suspicious circumstances, his creditors must sign his papers. Thus, the creditor is protected without oppressing the debtor; the rogue is distinguished from the honest; and a person is obliged, by a terrible penalty, to know the state of his affairs, and when once embarrassed, to refrain from speculating to retrieve himself.

This law came into operation May, 1848, and it was not long before it caught something in the shape of an English concern, who pay about one-quarter of 1 per cent, and whose partners are now expiating their offence in prison.

I suspect you could not get such a law at home. The 60 per cent would be rather

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objectionable, in some places, and, besides, what would be the use of doing business, if a man could not cheat his creditors? It would be taking away one of the largest profits of commerce.

There is a story told of a man here, who was once in prison for debt, under the old law. When he had an opportunity, he said to his detaining creditor, who was paying sixty guilders per month for his support-" Now what is the use of your keeping me here at such an expense? Just give me thirty guilders a month, and let me find myself, and let the other thirty go toward writing off the debt."

The writer of this letter, who, it seems, arrived at Batavia on the 14th of September' 1849, gives an interesting table of distances on the route from New York to that place, with the time occupied in performing the voyage, as taken from the ship's log-books, etc. This we shall publish in the February number of the Merchants' Magazine.

IN A GOOD BUSINESS.

Many seem to think that success in life depends wholly upon the start they take, and that if they can but have their bark rightly trimmed and squared with the current, they may rest upon their oars and still be sure of their wished-for haven. If a man once "get into a good business," they regard his fortune as made, without reference to his own exertions, and think that there can be no fear of the result. But the contrary of this is quite as frequently true; and it is no uncommon thing to see the finally prosperous man, encounter the buffetings of adverse storms at the beginning of his career, and those who at first sailed smoothly along an unruffled sea, make shipwreck at last. Indeed, we may see the reason of this in the fact that the discipline of early difficulties prepares the harassed mariner for final triumph, while the favoring gales which have marked the course of others, have lulled them into a fatal security. Perpetual mutability is characteristic of human affairs, and a season of calm should blind none to the chances of a coming storm.

We do not allude to this to dishearten

any who are sailing with us on life's troubled sea, or to excite coward fears. A storm is not a shipwreck-the leaping waves dash harmlessly against the bow of the welltrimmed bark-aud a furious gale may but bear the skilful mariner more rapidly to his destined port. We would have none shrink from an effort on the sea, because the voyage is dangerous, but simply warn those whom a deceitful calmness may have led into a careless indifference to the future.

The present is a time when merchants should be unusually careful, particularly in giving credits. The past season has been a trying one through the country, and our advice given to our readers a few weeks since to examine their ledgers, is daily growing of more importance. The visits of the epidemic throughout the country have altered the standing and prospects of many country merchants, some of whom will come to market to ask for credit. If any of them are unsound at present, this is the very moment for them to stop, and farther credit should be refused. Let no one, in the vain hope that their debtor may improve his position, add to the amount at risk by farther sales. It is always better to pocket a loss at once which must be made, than to postpone it with a risk of its increasing. A customer of doubtful credit ought to have no place upon a merchant's books. If the jobber trusts only undoubted customers, he will lose enough in the course of trade, but whenever there is room for doubt, he should give himself the benefit of it, as the jury do a prisoner on trial, and refuse the credit a-ked. This should be an invariable rule, never to be violated. And now with regard to those who have been safe in the past, let there be renewed scrutiny into their responsibility. That a man has been at some former period in a good busisiness, is no safeguard against his present insolvency. The foundations of many have been sorely shaken. Some have had but a light trade, or anxious to keep up their active sales, have entrusted their goods to irresponsible persons who will buy at any season on credit. Such should be carefully watched, and if necessary stricken off the This undertaking, simple as it may seem, requires courage, and roll of customers. that too in a high degree. It is a difficult matter to bring our lips to a decided negative, when an old customer asks credit. Many a man has been ruined because he had not the moral firmness to pronounce the little monosyllable. Its importance should, therefore, be fully understood, and when judgment says "No," the lips should not shrink from echoing its verdict.-Merchants' Gazette.