with wealth or influence could purchase the privilege; the system was a monopoly; the secrecy by which the vender is concealed, and the rapidity with which he can realize, encourage fraud and stealing by fraudulent debtors, thieves, heedless and guilty clerks, smugglers, and others; foreign speculators and manufacturers, selling through the auctions, undermine and ruin the importing trade; incessant fluctuations thus created are injurious to commerce, public morals, and individuals; the prices of merchandise are increased, etc.

In January 1829, the Committee of Ways and Means of Congress, in answer to the petition of "several merchants of great respectability and intelligence, delegates from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Alexandria," said: "Whatever may be the frauds and impositions, the committee are of the opinion that the application of the remedy belongs exclusively to the State Legislatures." "If, however, sales at auction are the means by which frauds are committed upon the revenue," or foreigners could enter goods at lower rates than American merchants, "there can scarcely be a question either as to the power or the duty of Congress to interpose its authority. This remedy, however, should have an appropriate and exclusive reference to the evil it is designed to correct." A tax upon sales would not effect either of the above, and a bill is reported "to preserve the revenue laws from violation." It provided: "In all sales by auction of foreign goods the invoice shall be produced, and a schedule of the goods, with all the marks and particulars of importation, shall be published."

We append a list of the principal firms of auctioneers in existence from 1828 to 1850, many of them before the first date, and some after the last date. Those first given were in business in 1828-though the firms were not just then as here printed :

John Ashmead.
James B. Oliver.
George P. Bonnin.

S. D. Sager & Co.
Patrick McKenna.
James Clark.

H. C. Corbit & Co.

T. Birch, Jr., & Co. (1836).

George W. Lord & Son.
Doolittle & West.

James Burk.

Alfred M. Herkness.

George W. Smith.

H. Cowperthwait & Lord
(1836).

William Folwell, Jr. (1836).
George Thomas.

Archibald Murphy.

Stephen Poulterer.

Henry Erwin.

Wm. Baker (now C. C. Mackey).

H. Johnson.

David Lynch.

J. Thomas.

Joseph Gatchel, Jr.

Joseph Aitken.

Besides commissions, rating from $4000 to $100,000, each auctioneer was obliged to pay, quarterly, duties upon all dutiable goods sold; these amounted in the years 1830 to 1833 as follows:

1830.-$124,937.31
139,361.22

1831.

1832.-$93,552.40
1833. 78,063.60

thus showing a rapid decline in the business, that for 1833 being $60,000 less than for 1831. Indeed, with the exception of leading firms, many of the names in the above list figure but for one or two years only.

1847, A. M. Herkness started at the present site, "The Bazaar," which had formerly been occupied as an exhibition building for a diorama of Jerusalem.

OLD HOUSES.

The row of good houses on the south side of Arch street, p. 235. -These were opposite to my grandfather's house, No. 145 Arch street. They were George Bringhurst's; his dwelling was next to the burying-ground, a red frame dwelling, two stories, with gable to the street, a grass-plot in front, with a paled ́fence. There were no other houses between it and the large house at the corner of Fourth street in 1792. This row was built in 1796. The western house has been converted into a four-story store. On the north side of Arch street my grandfather built a large house in 1792. It was a spacious family mansion in the best style of the day, and had a large sideyard. It stood until 1856, when it and the house west of it (formerly John Cook's) were both torn down to make room for fine stores.

Changes in streets, p. 237.-Locust street was widened to 50 feet from Eighth street to Washington Square (or street, as it was then called), on the petition of Evans Rogers and Nathan Bunker,

in 1831. The latter wanted then to build a house "somewhat varying from the usual style of building dwellings," yet "its neatness of appearance and the comfort of its arrangements will aid the general improvement of that fanciful part of our city." It was to take the place of frame buildings then there. Bunker could not have built his peculiar house.

The reason why many of the old farmhouses are not built at right angles with modern streets is, they were built before the streets were laid out, and are generally at right angles with the roads near which they were erected. The old roads-Frankford, Moyamensing, Passyunk, Darby, Ridge, Gray's Ferry-did not run north and south, nor east and west, and houses were constructed to front those highways, without reference to their being laid out east and west and north and south.

READY-MADE GARMENTS.

Selling Ready-made Garments, p. 240.-Watson is not correct in stating Burk was the first to sell ready-made clothes. In 1794, William Smiley kept a ready-made clothing store, southeast corner of Water and Market streets; also Thomas Dobbins, Front and Market streets. A year or two later John Culin kept a similar establishment in Market street, near Water, and a few years after (say 1805) John Ashton kept a ready-made clothing store in Market street, above Front; and Charles Collins in Front street, above Chestnut; and about this period Alexander Dougherty, Front street, near Chestnut; Enoch Allen, Chestnut and Water streets; Henry Hugg, Market street, below Second; Silas W. Sexton and Jacob Painter, Market street, above Front; Charles Harkness, same locality; Charles Hill, south-west corner Water and Arch streets; James Wilson, north-west corner Water and Arch streets; Lawrence, near Water and Market streets; James Boyd, Water street, near Race. Also, in those days there were Samuel Owens, Auley Brown, S. C. & B. C. Cooper, and others. Some eighty-five years ago Mr. Smiley was a highlyesteemed citizen, popular with some of the best citizens as a tailor, and noted for his handsome styles and superior military suits of clothing, made to order. He lies buried in the old Pine Street Presbyterian graveyard, Fourth and Pine streets. The first clothing establishments upon Market street were those of Ashton, Harkness, Sexton, and Collins, all between Front and Second streets. The last-named continued in business nearly fifty years; all named above have passed away. In those days the clothing business was carried on exclusively east of Second street, and chiefly opposite to that which was so long known as the Jersey Market-house, and contiguous to the old court-house. Mr. Burk was in business sixty years ago at the corner of Sixth

and Chestnut streets. In 1799, W. &. S. Weyman, of No. 39 Maiden lane, New York, who were the pioneers of ready-made clothing in that city, opened a branch of their establishment here, at No. 43 North Second street, near Coombs's alley. The firm was A. Weyman & Son. This house was in business here for only two or three years. The Weymans kept a fashionable ready-made clothing establishment. The late Josiah W. Leeds (who came from Massachusetts) commenced the ready-made clothing business about the same time. Mr. Leeds's store was on the west side of Seventh street, a few doors above Market street. On Market street, about the year 1830, there was not one "readymade clothing store" on the south side, west of Second street, as far as Sixth street. There was one well known in those days at the south-west corner of Market and Decatur streets; the old firm of James & Cook. They were well-known clothiers, and were patronized by the fashionable gentlemen of that time. Page & Watkinson, some years after, kept ready-made clothing, and also Robb & Winebrenner, William Wilkinson, and others. Many can remember that to wear a suit of clothes coming from "Watson's" would make a gentleman's toilet to be admired, etc. But those days have passed away, and the ready-made clothing business has become quite an established thing in our city.

It would be a very difficult thing to say who first introduced ready-made clothing in this city. Ready-made articles of apparel for the use of seamen must have been sold in this city ever since it had anything like a respectable amount of commerce. "Slopshops" existed in Water street sixty or seventy years ago.

Manufactures, p. 244.-George C. Osborne was the first manufacturer of "water colors" in the United States. He came from London, England, in the year 1808, and started the business in company with another man in New York. A few years after that he came to Philadelphia, and started the same business again, in company with Mr. D. B. Smith, at the north-east corner of Sixth and Arch streets, in 1824, and remained with that gentleman until 1837, when he died on September 1 of that year. His son, George W. Osborne, succeeded him in manufacturing water colors in this city.

Publishing Interests in Philadelphia.-We have in Philadelphia forty-five newspaper offices, whose annual product is $4,300,000; we have one hundred and three job printing-offices, the value of whose product is $2,176,000; of books the product is $4,193,000; of paper and paperhangings, $4,049,000; product of paper-mills, nearly $4,000,000; type, $686,000; ink, $241,000; steel pens, $30,000 total, $19,675,000. To this must be added about $1,500,000 for stereotype, electrotype, steel and wood engravers, etc., making an aggregate of about $21,500,000. The total number of the men employed directly and indirectly exceeds five thousand.

Music.-Blake & Willig were among the earliest music-publishers in Philadelphia. Mr. Blake died nearly one hundred years of age, at No. 13 South Fifth street. Mr. Blake stated that Messrs. Carr and Shetkey were publishing music previous to 1800, and that John Aitken was their predecessor for several years, at No. 3 or 5 South Third street. It will be remembered by many a queer-looking building at the south-east corner of Third and Market streets. Many of the plain people at that time named the building "Jones's Folly." Mr. Blake, it seems, came over from England in the year 1793. The yellow fever was raging badly. Our city was truly desolate. He said every one seemed "frightened out of their wits." The year following he began teaching the flute and clarionet over Aitken's music-store, on South Third street. He related that one day he was called upon by a committee of Friends, threatening him, to stop teaching the clarionet to their boys, or "we will have thee put in prison." Taws was making pianofortes then, near the corner of Third and Union streets. The improvement in style of pianos in the past fifty years is wonderful, but not so in music-printing.

The first manufacturer of pianos was John Belmont in 1775, followed by James Juliann in 1785. Charles Taws commenced their manufacture about the year 1789 or '90. Mr. Taws, who was somewhat of an original in his way, was a self-taught mechanician, and came to this country from Scotland about 1785. The writer of this has seen one of Mr. Taws's instruments bearing date 1795, and which, in comparison with the productions of the Steinways and Chickerings, would seem a very diminutive affair. Mr. Taws at one time was connected with the elder Astor in the business of importing pianos, and also was of some note as a builder of organs, which business, like the piano manufacture, he was amongst the earliest to introduce into the United States. One or two of Mr. Taws's sons inherited their father's musical ability, and became, for their day, professors of some standing. About the first organ built in this country was built for the Salem Episcopal Church by Thomas Johnston of Boston in 1754.

The light trail of the red men is effaced by the road of iron, p. 255. -A race on the Delaware between Indians and whites occurred in August, 1845, between four Indians selected from a party then encamped for the summer at Cake's Garden, at the foot of Federal street, Camden, and a four-oared barge from the receiving-ship, then lying off the Navy Yard. The Indians used a bark canoe, which they brought with them. They placed one of their women in the centre for ballast. The paddlers ranged themselves two on each side. The start was at high water, so that there would be no current to cross or to stem. The course was from the foot of Federal street, Camden, around the receiving-ship, and return. The Indians won, beating their competitors more than a quarter of the return distance. The race was witnessed by a large crowd of people