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At Bordeaux, the parties are sometimes referred by the tribunal to one of the judges, who, as arbitrator, generally effects a compromise between them. In Belgium there is compulsory arbitration respecting adjustments between partners. The tribunal refers them to arbitration. Voluntary arbitration, independently of the tribunal, is rarely resorted to. In France, however, it is very general. The practice generally is to make either the President of the Tribunal of Commerce, or the President of the Court Imperial, or sometimes another individual, nominate the third arbitrator if the parties cannot agree. In Hamburg, all contracts for grain have on their backs a printed stipulation containing a clause of arbitration, in case of difference respecting quality or otherwise.

Of the whole number of disputes, more than one-half are thus settled. They are arranged, they are dropped, and the cases die a natural death. In 1857, there were in Hamburg 2,740 decisions, 132 appeals, and there were held 1,331 commissions, in which 1,074 cases were amicably settled.

At Bordeaux, if both parties prefer to go to a civil court, they can do so; but if either party prefer the Tribunal of Commerce, he can require the case to be decided there. There is no limitation of amount in regard to such tribunals in France. They take cognizance of everything which is of a commercial character, or which is done for the purpose of profit. When the disputes are not of a commercial nature, or the tribunal is otherwise incompetent, the defenadnt, or the party who has an interest in appealing, can appeal. But such cases seldom happen, not one in a thousand. Even where a very large sum is in dispute, provided the case be of a commercial character, the parties generally commence their proceedings before the Tribunal of Commerce. The competence of the Tribunals of Commerce extends over all commercial suits, that is, over all disputes arising between traders, or arising between one party being a trader and the other not, he being a defendant. The limit of the jurisdiction in Belgium, from which there is no appeal is £80, except it be a question of competency. Even if the dispute be not among merchants, wherever it has profit for its end, it may be brought before the Commercial Court Judges. The tribunal at Bordeaux is composed of a president, six judges, and four assistant-judges. The judges are selected from among the whole commercial community, by a select list of voters taken from the first, and the heads of the commercial firms of Bordeaux, 120 in number. The number is made out by the prefect, and, therefore, it is in the hands of the The Code de Commerce indicates the qualifications of those voters. Paragraph 618 gives the definition of the qualification :-"The Judges and Assistant-Judges of the Tribunals of Commerce shall be elected in an assembly com posed of leading merchants, and principally of the chiefs of commercial houses of the longest standing, and most to be commended for their honesty, spirit of order, and general good management." In Bordeaux there was a good attendance of judges. The judges are elected for two years, and may be re elected. New men are elected as assistant-judges, and are afterwards promoted to be judges. The functions of the judge are purely honorary; still, in Bordeaux, the position was coveted. The office of Judge of the Tribunal of Commerce is looked upon as one of great honor, and men actively engaged in business are anxious to become judges, though unpaid.

crown.

At Brussels, there are one president, eight judges, and eight assistant judges. The judges are elected by ballot, by a certain number of merchants taken out of

the totality of the merchants of the District of Brussels. The list is formed by the provincial administration of government.

The number of electors is twenty-five, in districts under 15,000 souls, and it is increased one per thousand above that number. In the election of the members of the tribunal the sitting judges preside. They convene together all the electors and the election is made by ballot. The president calls the names of the electors, and each elector goes with the paper folded up, and hands it to the president, who puts it into an urn, and that is all. The government never interferes in the election of judges.

THE WHALE TRADE.

The Boston Journal publishes the following interesting information in reference to the whale fisheries:-In 1834 the whole number of vessels engaged in this business was about 700, of which 400, or four sevenths, were American vessels, and 300, or three-sevenths, were foreign; so that 25 years ago, American enterprise was ahead of the rest of the world as four to three. In 1859 the whole number is estimated at 900, of which 661 are American, and 239 foreign, showing American enterprise still more in the ascendant; for we have added 261 ships to our fleet, a gain of 65 per cent; while our competitors have fallen off 61 ships, a loss of 60 per cent.

In the value of the catch, the increase is still greater, being about $12,300,000 in 1859, against $4,500,000 in 1834-about 175 per cent. This, however, is in a great measure owing to the advanced value of oil and bone, the comparative statement of the quantities being as follows:

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But it is also in part owing to the great relative increase of sperm oil takenover 100 per cent-while the increase of whales is only 5 per cent.

Of the ships employed in this business, from this country, nearly, if not quite, four-fifths are owned in and fitted from Massachusetts ports, producing to that State an annual income of about $10,000,000, giving employment to 12,000 seamen, and as many landsmen, besides yielding a large profit on the invested capital.

The pursuit of whales in all latitudes, including the very extremes of heat and cold on the same cruise, is the most hazardous, and, with occasional exceptions, the most tedious of any occupation men are engaged in. It requires courage, skill, endurance, and tenacity of purpose, to insure success, more than are necessary in any other vocation. Scarcely any other voyage requires a year, and every man knows when he ships where he is going, just what he shall have to do, and when he will be back again; but the whaler only knows that he is off to the uttermost parts of the Southern Ocean, probably not for less than two, and possibly for four years; it may be to come home with a goodly sum to his credit for his share of the spoils, or with not enough to pay half the common seaman's wages in the mean time; for months at times to roll lazily about on the ocean, with not enough to do to keep the blood in circulation, and then to be roused all at once to stretch every nerve to the highest pitch, and enter with all his soul

into the most ardent pursuit of the most dangerous game. But these very uncertainties, hazards, and shifting scenes, are suited to our people, and it is therefore easier to fit out and man a whaler from our ports than from any other port in the world. The old Bay State may well be proud of her whaling fleet, of the enterprising merchants who own the ships, of the steady, skillful men who command, and the host of gallant seamen who man them. She may boast of her manufactures, of her commerce, of her schools and her charities, but either or all of these may be matched by others; while no other State, no other nation in the world, can show anything to compare with her whale catchers. Success attend them! In this business, which pre-eminently requires all the great qualities requisite to make up a true man, she stands out alone, far above all competition.

In addition to the foregoing statements the Scientific American remarks, that in 1820 the number of ships in England and Scotiand engaged in the whale fisheries of the Arctic seas was 156, the amount of oil obtained yearly was 18,725 tons, and whalebone 902 tons. Owing to the increased difficulty of catching whales, and the rapid extension of lighting streets and factories with gas, the whaling business was afterwards almost extinguished. The old vessels were sold for carrying coal, and an immense amount of property was sacrificed. Within the last few years, however, the business seems to be growing up again, even though vast quantities of coal oil are now made and sold. It is believed that the whale oil, especially sperm, is still superior to all other unguents for the lubrication of machinery; hence, as vast quantities are required for railroads and other purposes, there is much to incite persons to engage in the whale fishing. Within the past few years the whale fisheries of Hull, (the New Bedford of Old England.) have put steam into requisition for whaling, and several ocean ships are now engaged in the Greenland and Davis' Straits fisheries. Auxiliary steam engines were first put into some of the old wooden ships, and this was found advantageous; then some iron screw steamers were tried, but they were built so weak that they could not stand the rough encounter with icebergs. The Chase, a strong American built ship of 558 tons, was bought two years ago by a company in Hull, and fitted with steam engines of 80 horse power, and her first voyage last year, (1858) was very successful to her owners. The use of steam enables British whalers to make one voyage to Greenland and another to Davis' Straits in one season, and it thus has advantages, but we do not think it would be very economical for the long voyages of our whalers to the Pacific. The town of Hull which sent out 60 ships to the whale fishing in 1818, with crews of 40 men each, does not send more than 20 ships to-day; hence, we may well say, Americans are the whale fishers of the world.

SALES OF GOODS IN VIRGINIA.

The Richmond Whig has the following very interesting extracts from the report of Col. BENNETT, Auditor of Public Accounts, prepared for the Legislature, showing the aggregate sales of goods in Virginia, and the license tax. The Auditor states:

I have compiled the following, showing the number of merchants under clas sification and their aggregate sales, as well as the percentage on each class for licenses, for the year 1858, and their separate sales :—

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It will appear from this table, that there are 6,634 merchants of all classes in this State, and that the total amount of their sales from these data, is $41,154,000; from which the State collects the sum of $313,976 34, or a percentage of about three-fourths of one per cent for the privilege of selling this amount of goods, wares, and merchandise. It will further appear that 2,600 persons pay two per cent at least, on their sales, whilst 112 persons, who sell in the aggregate $12,880.000, pay less than one-fourth of one per cent on their sales. This argues, and I think establishes, an injustice to the small and feeble trader, which demands relief. It may be very readily and judiciously avoided, by simply attaching the same percentage on all sides, as the basis of taxation. This is in accordance with the principles of our constitution, and in accordance with the acknowledged theory of taxation. The amount of sales of goods in the State is a very interesting statistical feature, and one, we believe, that has not before been given to the public. The New York Mercantile Agency reported last year the number of failures, and the amount of liabilities in all the States. If we compare these returns with the above, we have results as follows:-

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The number of failures was 4 per cent of the whole in 1858, and the liabilties 6 per cent of the sales.

RICE EXPORT FROM SAVANNAH AND CHARLESTON.

The exports of rice from Savannah and Charleston for the past year were as follows:

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LUMBER EXPORTS OF SAVANNAH AND CHARLESTON.

The exports of lumber from September 1st to August 31st, from Charleston and Savannah, were comparatively as follows:

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A "Blue Book" has just been published, consisting of statistical tables relating to the colonial and other possessions of the United Kingdom. It appears from this publication that the trade of the East Indies greatly surpasses in extent that of any other dependency of the British Empire. In the last year of which we have any regular official account, the value of the imports into British India was £28,608,284, of which large amount £16,739,897 was from the United Kingdom. In the same year (1857) the exports amounted to £26,591,877, of which £10,635,607 was to the United Kingdom. Thus the whole trade of India amounted to more than £55,000,000.

Next in importance was the trade with the Australian colonies, including New Zealand and Tasmania. The united value of the imports of these colonies was £25,823,283, of which £16,282,022 was from the United Kingdom. The value of the exports of the Australian colonies was £22,954,033, of which £14,653,370 was to the United Kingdom. The whole trade of these colonies approached £49,000,000.

It will be observed that whilst the population of British India exceeds that of Australia in the proportion of at least ten to one, the proportion of the commerce of the former to that of the latter is not quite as eight to seven. The cause of this discrepancy is very obvious. It is also obvious that the joint annual commerce of these two colonies or dependencies (£104,000,000) depends for its successful development and management, in a great measure, upon the Straits of Gibraltar remaining a free highway, and the Mediterranean Sea an open one.

Next in extent and importance was the trade with the five colonies of British America. The imports into these extensive and flourishing colonies amounted to £13,412,237, of which £5,743,962 was from the United Kingdom. The value

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