I On boards, plank, scantling, and sawed timber, reduced to inch meas- On hemlock, per 1,000 feet per mile, when not weighed ... On sub 6 and 7, if transported in rafts, per 1,000 feet per mile On mahogany (except veneering) reduced to inch measure, per 1,000 feet On sawed lath, of less than ten feet in length, split lath, hoop poles, hand- On staves and heading, empty barrels and casks, and ship knees, trans- On the same, if transported in rafts, per 1,000 lbs. per mile On shingles, carried in boats, per 1,000 lbs. per mile On the same, if conveyed in rafts, per M. per mile.... On split posts, (not exceeding ten feet in length,) and rails for fences, (not On the same, if conveyed in rafts, per M. per mile... per per mile.. .... On wood for fuel, (except such as may be used in the manufacture of salt, On live cattle, sheep, hogs, horns, hoofs, and bones 0 4 0 0 0 0 .... On wheat, flour, barley, rye, peas, and beans. On flour, starting and going from tide-water On potatoes, apples, onions, turnips, all other esculent roots, and ice.. On other agricultural productions of the U. States, not particularly specified 0 4 0 ..... MERCHANDISE. PER 1,000 POUNDS PER MILE. On veneering On railroad iron and railroad chairs On hreshing, mowing, and reaping machines, fanning mills, plows, harrows, ARTICLES NOT ENUMERATED. 0 8 0 0 4 0 0 1 5 04 0 On all articles not enumerated or excepted, per 1,000 lbs. per mile....... 0 4 0 BOATS AND PASSENGERS. On boats used chiefly for the transportation of persons, navigating the canals, per mile ......... On the same, if they elect to commute for tolls upon passengers, per mile.. STATISTICS OF THE BRITISH STEAM NAVY. Of screw steamships, according to the Liverpool Times, afloat, England has at the present moment eleven line-of-battle ships, soon to be increased to twenty; five guardships, and seven powerful frigates, independent of smaller vessels. The following are the names, number of guns, horse-power, and stations of the most powerful of the screw fleet: In addition to the above the following screw steamships are building, and will probably be afloat in a few months: 24 250 300 24 580 21 250 50 490 The following are the most powerful paddle-wheel steamers now afloat: BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD. We have obtained the following very interesting and official statement of the present condition of the funded debt of this road, by a review of which the experienced reader will be able to arrive at a pretty accurate estimate of the general financial prospects of the company, for the residue of the fiscal year : The funded debt of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, as appears by its report made to 30th of September, 1853, as follows: Making the whole funded debt of the company at that time ..... Making the whole funded debt to the present time.. Treasurer's Office, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, March 31st, 1854. 566,666 67 1,128,500 00 700,000 00 1,281,846 25 5,386,481 64 3,000,000 00 8,389,481 64 1,218,153 75 9,607,635 39 10,118,902 00 J. I. ATKINSON, Treasurer. From the above it will be seen that the entire funded debt, upon which interest accrues, is $9,607,635 39. Since the annual report of the president was made, it will be seen that $1,218,153 75, being the residue of the loan of 1885, has been realized. This amount, with the net earnings of the road for the past six months, together with $245,000 to the credit of revenue from the last year, making some $2,200,000. in all, has been applied to the reduction of the floating debt, and to construction, which is constantly progressing. This is a highly favorable exhibit of the state of the road, and affords the assurance that, with no unforseen contingency to affect the reasonable anticipations for the future, the company will be in a condition at the close of the fiscal year to dispose of a very considerable amount, as policy may dictate. THE RAILROADS OF MAINE IN 1853. We give below the returns made by the several companies to the office of the Secretary of State in Maine : Amount of indebtedness. Total cost of road. Atlantic and St. Lawrence Bangor and Piscataquis Calais and Baring.. Kennebec and Portland Machias Port... Penobscot 100,000 Unfinish'd. In addition to the above, the Boston and Maine (Mass.) Company owns some three miles in the State, but they keep only one account showing the cost and operations of the entire line from Boston to the South Berwick Junction. The average cost of the road, however, is about $49,600 per mile. Adding the three miles of the Boston and Maine Road, there is now finished and in operation 4094 miles of railway, costing some thirteen millions of dollars. THE RAILROADS OF VIRGINIA. We publish annually in the Merchants' Magazine, a carefully prepared statement of the length of railroads in each of the States. Alluding to this statement, which is generally transferred to other journals, the Winchester Virginian remarks:— Virginia has been credited for much less than her actual share of railway enterprise. To do her justice in this respect, before her own citizens as well as those of other States, we decided to compile the subjoined list of the lines now under way within her limits or in the hands of her people. Among them are three lines, the greater part of each of which lies within Virginia, the Seaboard and Roanoke, Petersburg, and Hicksford and Gaston; and one which is principally, we believe, in North Carolina, but prosecuted mainly by Virginia capital. This is the Clarksville and Ridgeway, a link in the route from Norfolk to the Upper Roanoke. The 251 miles of the Baltimore and Ohio Road lying in this State are excluded from the sum, because on the principle we follow in the case of the above-named roads, they are assigned to Maryland. This list will, we think, be found very nearly correct. It will be seen that Virginia has, in round numbers, 800 miles of railway in operation; 700 building; and 500 more in the hands of organized companies, every mile of which will doubtless be made in a few years. About 250 miles will probably be added to the finished track during 1854. Besides those we have named, there are others projected, to the extent of perhaps 1,000 miles or more. NEW RAILROAD SWITCH. An improvement in the operation of railroad switches has been made by Asa A. Simmons, Narrowsburgh, N. Y. It consists in attaching one end of the ordinary connecting rod of a switch to a circular plate at any point between the center of said plate and its periphery, according to the length of stroke required. The circular plate is attached to one end of a horizontal shaft, at the opposite end of which there is a lever, by which the peculiar plate and shaft are turned, and the connecting rod and switch moved. An index is secured to the circular plate, for the purpose of denoting the exact position of the switch. Measures have been taken to secure a patent. |