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and other tropical regions. The other is the African Aid Society, of London, formed to aid American free blacks to emigrate to Africa and the West Indies, where they may engage in the cotton culture. Its object is nearly identical with that of the Colonization Societies, superadding the idea of cotton culture as an immediate work for the free blacks. The chairman is Lord ALFRED S. CHURCHILL, M. P., and its officers comprising Lord CALTHORPE, the Bishop of Sierra Leone, Lord ROLLO, Hon. W. ASHLEY, Admiral SEYMOUR, Sir C. EARDLEY and many other distinguished men.

It has formed branches in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and other towns, and bids fair to greatly aid in ameliorating the condition of the negro race. The friends of that cause embrace many of the leading minds in Great Britain. The determination is to deliver England from dependence upon the South. African cotton can be delivered at Liverpool for 44d., which is much cheaper than American, and of an average quality. Let the merchants connected with the Southern trade not forget these facts. In any event of this war, secession has opened the eyes of the British, and the South has lost the monopoly of the cotton trade.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL has officially requested the British consuls to stimulate cotton culture throughout the British tropical dominions.

Soon after Mr. CHARLES F. ADAMS, the new American Minister, landed at Liverpool, in May, he was waited upon by the Mayor and by a deputation from the American Chamber of Commerce, who presented to him an address.

In reply his Excellency said: Mr. President and Gentlemen of the American Chamber of Commerce: I heartily accept of your cordial greeting on my arrival in this great city. It is now more than forty years since I left these shores. I was then a boy, and now I am past the age of middle life; but the interval of time has produced far greater changes in the relations between the country I now represent and the kingdom of Great Britain than any I can trace relatively in myself. As I watched the progress of discharging the letter bags from the steamer in which I have just made my passage, and reflected how often the same process is now repeated by means of such admirable nautical despatch, I felt in its full force the ever-increasing magnitude of the commercial relations between the two countries, and the importance of aiding, by every practical method, in developing them to their fullest extent. The progress of your city, gentlemen, manifests the great expansion of the same ideas. Long may it continue, by cultivating the arts of peace, to present the strongest inducements to the preservation of harmony between the nations. I come here desirous only to develop the fraternal relations to which you have been pleased to allude in your address to me. Such I believe to be the wish of the government of the United States, which has sent me, as well as of a very large portion of the people, irrespective of any personal differences that may now unhappily prevail among them. Permit me here to concur with you in the hope and the trust, that time and trial will bring round a better state of feeling there, so that we may all once more unite and co-operate in the blessed work of promoting the prosperity of the civilized world. Not doubting that this would be joyfully hailed by you in your respective useful vocations on this side, I can only pledge to you all my individual efforts to contribute to the same result.

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE.

COTTON FLAX OR FIBRILIA.

THE objects sought to be attained in producing fibrilia are to bring out a practical substitute for cotton, which may be grown in the northern States, and which will have a tendency to connect and equalize the agricultural with the mechanical and commercial interests of the North.

The principal causes of failure in times past, in bringing forward flax as a cheaper article of manufacture suited to practical and universal use, have been, first-the great labor to the agriculturist in order to maintain a clean and even straw in bundles suitable for breaking. This could only be done by pulling and threshing by hand, and in the process of rotting the flax.

The production of flax for making flax cotton or fibrilia, as well as the manufacture of it into cloth, is conducted upon a much more practical and economical scale. The flax or straw may be cut by a scythe, a mowing machine, or cradled. The seed may be threshed out by any or dinary threshing machine. The rotting process is dispensed with altogether. There are flax mills now in use for breaking and cleaning the straw, which are capable of dressing from two to five tons per day, and even going as high as ten tons in ten hours. The dressing of flax is entirely different from the old method, as well as the manufacture of it into cloth. Machines have been perfected for dressing and preparing flax to be carded and spun on cotton machinery. The foundation is laid, and it is with us, the American people, to exhibit its permanent and practical

value to the world.

If any one of your readers will give his name and post-office address, I shall be happy to render him such information as I may be in possession of in connection with this subject.

PENN YAN, YATES Co., N. Y., 1861.

CHARLES BEACH.

In connection with the foregoing, we received a circular stating that in 1848 Mr. BEACH, together with his father and brother, invented and applied for, and took out letters patent for a machine to dress and prepare flax to be spun on cotton machinery. Mr. BEACH constructed a fullsized working machine, with which he dressed ten tons of straw, producing five tons of flax cotton daily, with the aid of one man, and that the lint was in perfect condition. He has waited twelve years for a market for this lint, and would now be glad to know what is its market value, unbleached. Mr. BEACH is confident that if a demand will spring up, making the manufacture as profitable as any other branch of agriculture, the want will be met fully and promptly.-EDs.-Rural New-Yorker.

JOURNAL OF LIFE INSURANCE.

WAR RISKS OF LIFE INSURANCE-LETTER FROM ELIZUR WRIGHT.

ELIZUR WRIGHT, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Insurance Commissioners, having been applied to for information concerning war risks in life insurance policies, makes the following reply.

OFFICE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS,

Boston, April 21, 1861.

My Dear Sir: My opinion, not mathematically a very positive one, as to the proper rate to be charged on northern lives for permission to engage in the military service of the government in the present emergency, was formed some time ago, after a careful consideration of the facts then within my reach, and thus far I have seen no reason to change it.

The military statistics which we have, assuming their accuracy, throw but a feeble and flickering light on the question of military risks. Taking modern wars of first rate European powers along with our own military experience, the extra mortality varies all the way from 0 up to 20 per cent. per annum on the mean force. This extra mortality may be divided into three parts:

First. The enhancement of ordinary diseases, which varies according to circumstances of commissariat, medical arrangements, climate, fatigue of marches, &c., &c.

Second.-Deaths from casualties in action; the ratio of these to the forces engaged in the service has varied greatly, but not so much as that of the deaths by disease, and it is not nearly so large. In many very important wars it has been less than one per cent.

Third. The mortality which shows itself after the war, from disease or vicious habits contracted in the service. As to the amount of this, we are left almost entirely to conjecture. It must be considerable for the mass, but would probably not be large for such lives as in times of peace resort to life insurance, and could be guarded against in some measure as to lives seeking insurance now by judicious selection. Men of character may undergo great hardships with even a beneficial effect on their vitality.

Allowing to blind fortune its full share in the government of military matters, it is obvious enough that the ratio of mortality in past wars has depended greatly on the palpable circumstances belonging to each, and that in predicting that which will rule in the present war we must carefully consider the relative position, strength and means of the parties. This war has really no precedent in the history of the world, either among foreign, civil or servile wars.

A government cordially supported by eighteen millions of people, possessed of ample means, inspired with a common enthusiasm, is called on to suppress a rebellion got up, amidst a population of ten millions, more than one-third of whom are slaves, by a small minority of the free population, and entirely in their interest. The country controlled by the conspirators has no navy, small manufactures, little available wealth at home, and no credit abroad. It appears to me, that while the war may cost the insurgents much blood, the government must be sadly deficient in both statesmanship and generalship, if it does not conquer a permanent peace at a very moderate cost of life on its part. Whatever prejudices or predilections may be entertained at the North, a military necessity now dictates that property in slaves, the cause of rebellion, must be sacrificed for the salvation of the country. Such sacrifice involves nothing barbarous, wasteful of life, or beyond the constitutional power of the government at such an emergency.

It will necessarily take place by throwing upon southern soil at two or three commanding points sufficient force to ensure the protection of life, liberty and all other species of property to all the population who will stand by their allegiance to the government, or return to it. The peculiar institution of the South renders it impossible for its extemporized government to concentrate a force sufficient to parry a blow of this sort, and it must necessarily make the best terms it can-among which will doubtless be a stipulation for the extinguishment of that claim of property in man which caused the war.

The Montgomery government, even if it had full time to organize, consolidate and avail itself of all its possible resources, would only be strong for aggressive war on a weak people. If the British government, at the time of our revolution, had had no slaves of its own and only the slave States to subdue, I think the forces it landed on southern soil would have done the work without suffering an extra mortality of more than one per cent. And while our government can have two hundred thousand troops for the arming, I do not believe it need sacrifice one per cent. of its army, or more than the time between this and July 4th, to end the question and seal the perpetuity of the Union.

There has been great danger that the conspiracy would gain some important advantage over our government while it was in a disorganized state; but that is passed. Now, I can liken the war only to that between the enraged bull and the locomotive. The natural brute is sure to get the worst of it, while, with caution and a cow-catcher, the artificial will convert its antagonist into harmless beef with no material damage to itself.

From all these considerations I am inclined to think the chances are in favor of the companies not losing by granting military permits at two per cent. But their position is so strong that I think they can shoulder some loss, and their constituents would cheerfully justify them in doing it. True prudence seems to be just now in over-doing rather than underdoing. The flag must be sustained, or our institutions sink into a common ruin.

Yours truly,

ELIZUR WRight.

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.

THE month of June has been marked with extreme dullness in commercial circles. The failures among dry goods firms, grocers, in the leather trade, hardware trade, &c., within the two months past have been numerous and heavy. The entire cessation of remittances from the seceding States, on account of indebtedness to New-York and other cities, has forced numerous houses, which were previously considered substantial, to suspend payment. Activity has prevailed among those articles in demand for war purposes. Fire-arms, ammunition, ready-made clothing, blankets, heavy shoes, and a few other articles in immediate use for the troops, command good prices and find ready sale. The entries of foreign goods for consumption in May, 1861, were less than one-fifth of May, 1859. We annex the summary for four years:

VALUE OF IMPORTS AT NEW-YORK FROM FOREIGN PORTS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY. 1861.

1858.

1859.

Dutiable for consump., $6,574,612. $ 15,222,311

Foreign, free,. . . . .
Entered for warehouse,
Specie and bullion,...

Total imports,.
Withdrawn,.

4,436,600

1860.

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1,928,573

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2,730,568

2,626,978

5,842,313

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4,746,614.
122,436.

Total,....

$14,120,276.. $ 25,181,080 . . $19,368,158.. $16,556,145

Those for May do not vary in their characteristics from those of each month since October last. An importation of specie largely exceeding the export-in fact, reversing the usual course; a large exportation of domestic products, double in value the corresponding month of the two previous years; a diminished importation, of which a large proportion is allowed to remain in bond, in the absence of a market-these are the distinguishing features which have prevailed for seven months. The prospects of a revenue under the present tariff, while Treasury notes are received for duties, are by no means flattering. The revenue for May was

lower than for any month since October, 1857, when it was reduced by the panic. The following statement gives the totals for the eleven months of the fiscal year:

EXPORTS, EXCLUSIVE OF SPECIE, FROM NEW-YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR ELEVEN

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Total exports,..... . § 93,181,108 .. $ 93,752,388 ..$120,200,004 ..$138,319,491

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