payment of the debts of the nine banks which failed prior to 1843, as provided for by the act, chapter 114 of the laws of 1845. The Safety Fund, therefore, is used up and mortgaged for liabilities already incurred, and there is no provision which can be made avail. able for the redemption of the notes of Safety Fund banks which may become insolvent hereafter.

The original Bank Fund act of 1829, (chapter 94,) provided for the payment of all debts of insolvent Safety Fund bands, from the Bank Fund. The act of 1842, (chapter 247, section 8,) provides that the act of 1829 "shall be so amended, that wherever the word 'debts' occurs, the same shall be stricken out, and the words circulating notes' inserted." This releases the Safety Fund from the payment of any of the liabilities of insolvent banks, except those created by the issue of circulating notes. A history of the operation of the laws of 1842 and 1845, and their effect on the Safety Fund, may be seen by reference to the Comptroller's annual reports for 1843 and 1846.

It further appears that seventy-one banks, with an aggregate capital of $12,437,654, have deposited with the Comptroller securities to the amount of $7,462,253, and have received from the Comptroller circulating notes to the amount of $6,641,756. The securities thus pledged for the redemption of the circulating notes, consist of

Twenty-nine banks, established under the "Act to authorize the business of banking," which have failed to redeem their notes, by reason of insolvency or otherwise, have consequently been closed, and the securities sold, and the proceeds applied to the redemption of the circulating notes of such banks. The nominal amount of securities deposited with the Comptroller, by these twenty-nine banks, as shown in the table, was $1,555,338 00 Amount received from sale of securities, Circulating notes at the time of failure,..... Circulating notes outstanding, June 20, 1846,.

953,371 75 1,233,374 00 27,551 00

If the amount of notes outstanding, ($27,551,) be deducted from the amount in circulation at the time of failure, ($1,233,374,) it shows a difference of $1,205,823, which is the amount of notes surrendered to the Comptroller; but this sum greatly exceeds the amount actually paid to bill-holders from the proceeds of the securities of the banks. A single case will be given to explain how this difference arises. An individual presents for redemption a twenty dollar note, on a bank which pays only 75 per cent of its circulation from the avails of the securities in the hands of the Comptroller. This person is paid $15 in money, and gets a certificate that he has surrendered $20, has been paid $15, and that there is due him $5 from the bank which issued the note. In no instance, has anything been realized from the receiver of a free bank to pay these certificates; in two or three cases, where securities in the hands of the Comptroller were left out of the first dividend, recoveries have been had, and the certificate redeemed in whole or in part from the avails of such securities.

The law requires that all mortgages taken as security for notes, shall be on improved, productive, unincumbered lands, worth, independently of any buildings thereon, at least double the amount for which they are taken. Appraisers have been selected, and their estimates were made under oath; and yet, when the value of these mortgages have been tested by forced sales, the average product of nineteen banks exhibits a loss equal to about thirty cents on the dollar. The average loss on New York State stocks and bonds and mortgages, taken together, is about sixteen cents on the dollar. These are the only securities now authorized to be taken for the redemption of circulating notes.

The twenty-nine banks before referred to, had deposited with the Comptroller, securities in State stocks and mortgages to the amount of... $1,555,338 00 953,371 75

These produced on sale,........

Showing a loss on the securities of............

$601,966 25

At the time of failure, these twenty-nine banks had in circulation notes to the amount of $1,233,374.

On these notes, the payments were equal to an average of 76 per cent; the total loss to bill-holders being $292,344 36. It is thus shown, that while the banks have lost $601,966 25, on that portion of their securities deposited with the Comptroller, the holders of their notes have lost $292,344 36, or a fraction less than 24 per cent on the amount in circulation at the time of the failure of the banks respectively.

FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1844-46.

On the 29th of June, 1846, the Senate of the United States passed a resolution requiring of the Secretary of the Treasury "a statement of the revenue received from eustoms for the three first quarters of the present year, and the amount expected from that source for the present quarter." Under date Treasury Department, July 13th, 1846, Mr. Secretary Walker transmitted to that branch of the government, the statement which we publish below:

The receipts from customs for the fiscal year terminating on the 30th of June, 1845, and for the first three quarters of the fiscal year ending on the 30th of June, 1846, are given from the official returns for moneys actually paid into the treasury.

The official returns for moneys actually paid into the treasury for the last quarter of the fiscal year ending on the 30th of June, 1846, are not quite fully completed, but can vary only a very small sum from the amount given in the estimate of $6,270,000.

It will be perceived that the receipts into the treasury from customs, for the fiscal year ending on the 30th of June, 1846, are less than the receipts for the fiscal year preceding, by the sum of $846,197 28.

RECEIPTS FROM THE CUSTOMS FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDING THE 30TH JUNE, 1845 AND 1846. Quarter ending 30th September, 1844,.

$10,873,718 04

1846, ascertained and estimated,..

.......

4,067,445 15

RAILROAD AND CANAL STATISTICS.

CAPACITY OF RAILROADS FOR BUSINESS.

THE Reading Railroad, which is ninety-two miles in length, transported, in the year 1845,800,000 tons of coal; and in the single month of July last, 104,000 tons. The business for the year 1846, is estimated at 1,220,000 tons, which is equivalent to 7,500,000 bales of cotton, more than three times the entire crop of the United States. If a like amount of up-freight is performed-and which might have been done, as the cars returned empty-we have an example of a railroad nearly 100 miles in length, capable of doing a transportation within the year, equivalent in weight to six times the cotton crop of the United States, or 12,000,000 of bales, and which would be equal to 5,000 ships of 500 tons each, performing two voyages to Europe.

This business on the Reading road, was performed at the rate of one cent per ton per mile, or $1 for 100 miles-one-half of which is shown to be profit. At the same freight, a bale of cotton may be brought from the Tennessee valley, North Alabama, at fifty cents a bale. "Who can, with this exhibit," says the Charleston (S. C.) Mercury," doubt the capacity of railways competing successfully with river navigation, or the ability to transport, at remunerating prices, western produce to our south Atlantic markets? Enterprise and confidence is all that is necessary; and if our southern cities, with all the lights before them, are resolved to remain in slumbering inactivity, others, acting up to the spirit of the age, will enjoy the harvest."

READING RAILROAD.

The following are the receipts of each of the twelve months of the year 1845, as compared with the twelve months of the preceding year :-

ERIE CANAL AND WESTERN RAILROAD.

The great State work of Massachusetts, has frequently been compared to that of New York State, as a means of developing the resources and improving the property of the Commonwealth. The analogy of the receipts in the two cases, for the first five years, is rather impressive:

* The increase on the Western road, thus far, in 1846, is over 20 per cent, giving $70,000 for the first six months, and being at the rate of $163,000 for the year, making the total, as above, $976,000. The expenses to the present time have not increased. -Boston Courier.

COMPARATIVE COST OF RAILROADS.

Twenty years ago, a short road at Quincy, to carry marble, was all the pioneer we had. Now we have nearly 4,000 miles of railroad in actual daily operation in the United States; and a great deal more in the rest of the world. The materials of experience are therefore sufficiently abundant. The cost of seventy-nine railroads in the United States is given in a table published in the American Railroad Journal. The aggregate length of them is 3,723 miles, and the cost is $109,841,460; or $29,325 85 per mile.

In the Carolinas and Georgia, 7854 miles cost but $14,063,175, or $17,919 per mile; those of North Carolina and Georgia, 5834 miles long, cost $8,391,723, or $14,387 72 per mile; those of Georgia, 3374 miles, cost $5,231,723, or $15,489 per mile; the Central Railroad in Georgia, 1904 miles long, cost $2,551,723, or $13,570 72 per mile; and that part of the Georgia Railroad, of 65 miles, which has been constructed of late years, is said to have cost less than $12,000 per mile, including an edge rail; or, as commonly called, a T rail.

The residue of the railroads on the list, in the Northern and Eastern States, amounting to 2,937 miles in length, cost $95,788,295, or $32,633 23 per mile.

TRANSPORTATION OF MILK ON THE ERIE RAILROAD.

The following statement of the revenues ensuing from the transportation of the single article of milk, for the four years ending Dec. 31, 1845, is derived from the books of the New York and Erie Railroad Company :

1842. $3,430 72

1843.
$18,497 46

1844.
$28,055 08

1845. $30,694 20

STATISTICS OF POPULATION.

IMMIGRATION INTO THE UNITED STATES.

THE following statement of the number of immigrants who have arrived at the port of New York during the six months commencing on the 1st of January, 1846, and ending on the 30th of June, is derived from the books of the United States Revenue Barge Office, under the charge of Captain Thorn:

Showing a total of 50,631 for the six months ending June 30th, 1846. The number of immigrants, according to the same authority, for the six corresponding months of 1845, was 37,809; being an increase in favor of the first six months of 1846, of 12,820.

A letter in the Washington Union, from Hanover, Germany, May 23d, 1846, estimates the number of emigrants to the United States, from Europe, during the present year, at not less than 200,000. Many families in affluent circumstances, the writer says, are quitting Holland for our shores. Twenty thousand persons, chiefly French or Swiss, also will embark at Havre. Forty thousand Germans, at the lowest computation, will sail from Bremen, three or four thousand from Hamburg, as many more from Rotterdam, and four or five thousand from Antwerp. These, with thirty thousand from Ireland, the writer believes, will carry with them a capital exceeding $20,000,000.

PROGRESS OF POPULATION IN BOSTON.

In the Merchants' Magazine for July, 1846, (Vol. XV., p. 34 to 50,) we published a very elaborate statistical view of the "Progressive Wealth and Commerce of Boston," based on the admirable report of Mr. Shattuck, but omitted any notice of the past, present, and progressive population of that city. That deficiency we now proceed to supply, drawing our data from the same authentic source.

The number of persons enumerated in the census of Boston of 1845, was 114,366. The increase of the population since 1840, has been 29,366; 35 per cent, or an average annual increase of 5,873, or 7 per cent.

The following table shows the total population of Boston by each census, from 1742 to 1845, distinguishing the white and colored population, and the per centage of the two colors :

From this statement it appears that the proportion of the colored population has been gradually diminishing. It has been reduced from 4.70 per cent in 1800, to 1.61 in 1845, or 3.06 per cent.

The following table shows the proportions of the sexes at different periods:

The number of naturalized foreigners. The number of foreign males in Boston, over 21 years of age, in 1845, was 9,763. Of these, 1,623 were returned as naturalized. Some are stated as having "obtained their first papers," but 7,053 were returned as not naturalized. The previous censuses gave 1,752 not naturalized, in 1820; 3,468, in 1830; and 4,606, in 1835.

POPULATION OF THE AUSTRIAN MONARCHY.

A statistical return lately published at Vienna, gives the total population of the Austrian monarchy at 37,491,120. Of this, Hungary has 12,273,717; Bohemia 4,249,669; the Kingdom of Venice 2,219,938; and Lombardy 2,588,426.