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are placed. It being desirable to alter the color of the four white buoys at the entrance of the Thames, for the purpose of making them more distinctive, the undermentioned buoys will be altered at the same time, as follows, viz.: the Nore buoy, to circular black and white striped; the Cant, to chequered red and white; West and Middle Spaniard, to black. The staff and ball being removed from the West Spaniard buoy.

Baltic.-Gulf of Bothnia.-Fixed and Flashing Light on Lungo Island.-Official information has been received that the Royal Administration of Maritime affairs at Stockholm has given notice, that on the 1st day of September, 1861, a light was exhibited from a light-house recently erected on the southern point of Lungo island, off Hernosand, on the coast of Sweden. The light is a fixed and flashing white light. A flash lasting seven seconds is preceded and followed by intervals of darkness, each being of twenty seconds duration; a fixed light then appears for two minutes and thirteen seconds, and is followed by the interval of darkness which precedes the flash. The light is elevated 78 feet above the mean level of the sea, and should be seen in clear weather at a distance of twelve miles. The illuminating apparatus is dioptric, or by lenses, of the fourth order. The tower is 25 feet high, circular, and colored yellow; its base being 53 feet above the sea. The keeper's dwelling, painted red, and visible some distance at sea, stands 250 feet northwest of the tower, which is in lat. 62° 38' north, and long. 18° 6' east of Greenwich.

Beacon on Ryvingen Island.-Also, that a new beacon of stone, in the form of a pyramid, 30 feet high and painted yellow, was to be erected in the place of the old one on the island of Ryvingen, near Mandel, in July last.

FINDING COMPASS DEVIATION AT KRONSTAT.

The Ministry of Marine has given the following notice of an arrangement made in the commercial port of Kronstat, to enable mariners to determine the deviations of their compasses, as resulting from the effects of the iron of the ship or the cargo on board, whilst lying at anchor in the great roadstead of that port, viz.: The correct magnetic bearings of the foundry chimney from various parts of the western wall of the commercial port of Kronstat are indicated by a series of marks, ranging between the bearings of N. 89° E. and S. 79° E., painted on the western face of the wall. The degrees are marked in figures legible from the roadstead of Kronstat, the even figures being on a black ground, and the odd figures on a red ground, in the following order:

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8.79° E. S.80 E. S.81° E. S.82° E. S.83° E. S.84° E. S.85° E. S.86° E. S.87° E. S.88° E. S.89°E. E. N.89°E.

The half degree between each of the above is also denoted by a white circular mark between them. The difference between the bearing of the foundry chimney, as indicated by any one of these marks and that observed from the ship when it is seen in line with it, is, therefore, the deviation of the compass. (Mariners will remember that this arrangement is similar in principle to that adopted at Liverpool, where the bearings of Vauxhall chimney for the same purpose are legibly painted on the sea face of the dock walls of that port. The variation of the compass at Kronstat has been assumed in the above arrangement to be 4° W.)

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.

I. SEIZURES AT NEW-YORK. II. THE STADE DUES. III. TREATY With Denmark. IV. FRENCH WEST INDIES. V. DANISH WEST INDIES.

SEIZURES BY CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS.

FOR the space of several months past, various vessels from Buenos Ayres, with cargoes of wool, hides and horns, consigned to merchants of this city, have been seized by the custom-house authorities, on a charge that the invoices of the cargoes were fraudulent and the cargoes, therefore, liable to confiscation.

This course has caused considerable annoyance to the merchants, who acted in good faith with the government, and had no intention, much less desire, to defraud the United States out of a farthing of their just dues. Some cargoes have been examined, re-appraised and released; in other cases the consignees have entered into bonds to abide the eventual adjustment of the difficulty, and thus released their cargoes; while other cases are in the courts, and the goods still in the possession of the customhouse authorities.

The whole difficulty seems to arise out of a misunderstanding between the custom-house appraisers and the consignees relative to the currency of Buenos Ayres, whence the goods are imported. By the old tariff, for instance, wool invoiced at less than twenty cents per pound ad valorem was admitted free of duty.

The revenue law of 1799 requires that in all cases where the currency of the country, whence goods are imported, is not fixed by the schedule of the United States, the consul at the port of exportation shall certify the value of the same, in Spanish or American dollars; which certificate shall be affixed to the invoice, and serve as a guide for the collector in estimating the value of the goods. Invoices from these countries are required to be made out in the currency of those countries, and the collector, in estimating the value, determines the same by the consular certifi

cate.

The currency of Buenos Ayres is paper money which, forty or fifty years ago, represented a par value of one Spanish dollar; that is, one paper dollar was equivalent in value to one Spanish dollar. The political and other disturbances of the country, however, soon depreciated this value, and issues of paper money were made to such an extent from time to time, that at last the value of the paper money so depreciated, that now, with a circulation of about four or five hundred millions, each dollar is nominally worth only about four cents, or, in other words, it requires twenty-five of the paper dollars to equal in value one Spanish dollar.

This valuation, even, fluctuates to a considerable extent, and hence certificates of the consul are found representing the value of the currency at various amounts, from twenty-two to twenty-five to the dollar.

In some of the interior provinces the currency is reals of plate, rep

resenting one-eighth of a dollar, but by the laws of the United States they are worth but one-tenth, requiring ten reals of plate to equal in value one dollar or La Plata dollar. Bargains for the products of the interior are based on this currency, but when payment is made, the value is estimated at ten to the dollar. Gold and silver coin, in fact, has no value as currency, being an article of commerce and fluctuating in value, as does almost any commodity with us.

Doubloons, even, fluctuate according to the state of the market, as they do here. Before the influx of gold from California and Australia doub loons had a standard value, which is now much depreciated even in this country.

In estimating the value of importations from Buenos Ayres the collector assumes a doubloon to represent in value sixteen Spanish dollars; and hence, for instance, seeing them quoted in that country at 335 dollars Buenos Ayres currency, he estimates the value of the Buenos Ayres dollar at a fraction less than twenty-one, while in fact their value is only twenty-five to the dollar. The collector also assumes to call eight reals equivalent to one Spanish dollar; thus proportionately affecting the value of the goods at the port of exportation.

It is held to be a well-settled principle of revenue law, based upon the act of 1799, that the collector has no authority to go behind the consular certificate, under any circumstances; he being the officer of the gov ernment as much as is the collector. The collector is governed by this certificate in assessing duties, and upon it he estimates whatever duty is due the government.

It is doubtful if the Treasury Department at Washington will sustain the construction that has been placed upon the revenue laws by which these seizures are justified; consequently the goods seized will have to be surrendered, either voluntarily by the collector or through due process of law.

THE STADE DUES.

THE ships of the nine powers who concluded a treaty with Hanover for the abolition of the Stade dues are not only entirely free of the liability to pay these dues, but also from the obligation of giving a security for the amount, which was required while the negotiations were pending. The arrangements with France, Sweden, Denmark and Lubeck are nearly concluded. The States that have not yet made any agreement with Hanover as to the duties are the United States, the new kingdom of Italy and Oldenburg. The government of the North American Federation has, however, instructed its Minister at Berlin to enter into communication with Hanover on the conditions agreed to by the other powers. The political condition of the kingdom of Italy delays the negotiations with it, and Oldenburg refuses to accept the distribution of the indemnity stipulated by the other treaties. In a semi-official document published at Hamburg it is announced, that up to the present date the treaty concluded with Hanover for the abolition of the Stade dues has been ratified by the governments of Great Britain, Brazil, Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Hamburg, Prussia, Austria and Russia.

TREATY WITH DENMARK.

The President has published the text of two additional articles added in July last to the treaty between Denmark and the United States. The articles provide, first, that the consular agents of the respective governments shall have the right to sit as judges and arbitrators in such differences as may arise at sea or in port between the captain, officers and crew of vessels of their own nation; and, second, that the consular agent have power to require the assistance of the local authorities for the search, arrest and imprisonment of deserters from the ships of war and merchant vessels of their country.

FRENCH WEST INDIES.

The new commercial system granted by France to her colonies of Martinique, Guadaloupe and the Isle of Reunion, superseding the former prohibitive regulations, came into force in the beginning of September. By this change the above islands are opened to the commerce and navigation of the whole world. The importation of merchandise will take place on the same terms as into France, except where the colonial tariff is more liberal, in which case the latter rate is retained. Trade can be carried on under any flag, but, with certain exceptions, a differential duty is charged on foreign as compared with French ships. All export duties on colonial merchandise are abolished. English vessels will now be enabled to take cargoes of foreign goods to these islands, and return laden with produce, either to their port of shipment or to France. The production of sugar is expected to be largely benefited, and increased activity is also looked for in the coffee, dye-woods and spirit trades. The principal articles imported by the three islands are wood for building, manufactured iron, salted meat and fish, butter, oil, flour and coal, and at each colony there is a port offering every convenience to maritime commerce. The change from exclusive prohibition to a system more nearly approaching free trade appears to be the commencement of a new and important era for these dependencies.

PRIVATEERS IN THE DANISH WEST INDIES.

The following official notice, excluding privateers from the Danish West India ports, appears in the St. Thomas Tidende, of the 20th July:

"Owing to the present state of political affairs in America, it is hereby brought to public notice, that privateers of no nation whatever will be allowed to resort to the Danish West India harbors or waters, or to send their prizes either to St. Thomas or any other of the harbors in these islands, or dispose of them there, as little as it will be allowed that vessels be provided in the Danish West India Islands with requisites for privateering, whether consisting in materials of war and provisions, or letters of marque from any belligerent power.

"Government for the Danish West India Possessions, St. Croix, 12th July, 1861.

"W. BIRCH."

JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.

I. EARLY MANUFACTURES IN RHODE ISLAND. II. COAL MINING IN INDIA. III. THE WORKING OF ENGLISH MINES. IV. MANILLA ROPE. V. JAPANESE PAPER. VI. BREECH-LOADING PISTOL-KNIFE. VII. THE NATIONAL BEVERAGE. VIII. "ENTIRE" PORTER. IX. MISSOURI LEAD MINES. X. SHODDY. XI. SHODDY, FLOCKS AND NOILS. XII. PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. XIII. WAGES AND PROFITS. XIV. POISONED DRESSES. XV. RE-MAKINg LeaTHER. XVI. LAKE SUPERIOR IRON.

EARLY MANUFACTURES IN RHODE ISLAND.

Ar a special meeting of the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Rev. Mr. BANVARD, of North Providence, read a paper upon the early history of Pawtucket.

The name of "Pawtucket," Mr. BANVARD said, was given to it by the natives, and signified "great falls of water." Pawtuxet, its diminutive, means "little falls of water."

In 1636, ROGER WILLIAMS purchased of CANONICUS and MIANTINOMO, after two years of negotiation, all the lands and meadows on the Moshassuck and Wanosquatucket Rivers. A transfer of a large portion of those lands was made to JOSEPH JENKS, October 10, 1671. JENKS was, according to tradition, the first settler of the town; and, being a manufac turer of anchors and other heavy iron articles, is said to have left Lynn because of the expense of obtaining wood and coal, which had become scarce there, and to have selected Pawtucket as a desirable location on account, not only of the abundance of fuel, but also of water power. This forge, situated on the western side of the Blackstone River, was burned by the Indians in 1675, in King PHILIP's war. Its site is now occupied by a large cotton mill. OZIEL WILKINSON, a blacksmith, who came from Smithfield, afterwards commenced business near JENKS' establishment. This shop was known as the Upper Anchor shop; JENKS' as the Lower Anchor shop. WILKINSON'S Sons succeeded him, and greatly enlarged the business. Oil mills were early erected for it by one KENNEDY, and afterwards by WILKINSON.

About sixty years ago there was an old snuff mill standing on the banks of the Blackstone, a short distance above Pawtucket, and, about the same time, a chocolate mill was in operation further up the stream, a part of the same building being occupied as a fulling mill and for the manufacture of wash-leather. Over $1,000 worth of this article was stolen from Colonel HALL, who was the manufacturer, and found a long time afterwards, so damaged as to be useless, in the woods, with other stolen goods. This mill subsequently became a snuff mill, and afterwards a cotton factory, and, with two or three other buildings, constituted the whole village of what is now Central Falls. Nearly all the land in that vicinity belonged, at that time, to the JENKS family.

In the great flood of 1807, that forced its way through the valley of the Blackstone, fourteen buildings were swept away from the village and

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