choice of innumerable offers of business, were the moderation of their demands and the punctual fulfilment of their engagements and the simplicity and clearness of their system. In short, the house of Rothschild became great because its affairs were conducted upon the most perfect system of mercantile tactics, and because the character of its members, partaking largely of that of the original banker of Frankfort, combined many of those amiable qualities which secure popularity without forfeiting respect. They sought to make money by skill and industry, not parsimony; they gave a liberal share of their profits to all whose services were of use in attaining them; and their hand— "Open as day to melting charity" doubled the value of the gift by the grace with which it was presentedthe grace impressed upon the external manner by a simple and kindly heart. We may now mention another circumstance which, on various occasions, must have contributed largely to the mercantile success of the family. Although their real union continued indissoluble, their places of residence were far asunder, each member of the house domiciling himself in a different country. At this moment for instance, Anselm, born in 1773, resides at Frankfort; Solomon, born in 1774, chiefly at Vienna; Charles, born in 1778, at Naples; and James, born in 1792, at Paris.The fifth brother, Nathan, born in 1777, resided in London, and died at Frankfort in 1837. The house was thus ubiquitous. It was spread like a network over the nations; and it is no wonder that, with all other things considered, its operations upon the money market should at length have been felt tremblingly by every cabinet in Europe. Its wealth in the mean time enabled it to enjoy those advantages of separation without the difficulties of distance. Couriers travelled, and still travel, from brother to brother at the highest speed of the time; and these private envoys of commerce very frequently outstripped, and still outstrip, the public expresses of government. We have no means of giving anything like the statistics of this remarkable business; but it is stated in the "Conversations Lexicon," that in the space of twelve years from 1813-the period, we may remark, when war had ruined all Europe, and when governments were only able to keep themselves afloat by flinging the financial burden upon posterity-between eleven and twelve hundred millions florins (£110,000,000 to £120,000,000) were raised for the sovereigns of Europe through the agency of this house, partly as loans, and partly as subsidies. Of these, 500,000,000 florins were for England; 120,000,000 for Austria; 100,000,000 for Prussia; 200,000,000 for France; 120,000,000 for Naples; 60,000,000 for Russia; 10,000,000 for some of the German courts; and 30,000,000 for Brazil. And this, it is added, is exclusive "of those sums for the allied courts, of several hundred millions each, which were paid as an indemnity for the war to the French, and likewise of the manifold preceding operations executed by the house as commissioners for different governments, the total amount of which far exceeded the foregoing." This, however, may already be considered an antiquated authority; for in reality, the vast business of the firm can hardly be said to have commenced till after the dozen years referred to had expired. Since the year 1826, the house of Rothschild has been the general government bankers of Europe; and if it were possible to compare the two circles of transactions, the former would seem to dwindle into insignificance. In 1815, the brothers were appointed counsellors of finance to the then Elector of Hesse; and in 1826, by the present elector, privy counsellors of finance. In 1818, they were elected to the royal Prussian privy council of commerce. In Austria, they received, in 1815, the privilege of be ing hereditary landholders; and in 1822, were ennobled in the same country with the title of baron. The brother established in London was appointed imperial consul, and afterwards consul-general; and in the same year (1822) the same honor was conferred upon the brother resident in Paris. The latter, the Baron James, has the reputation of being the most able financier in France; and it is mainly through his assistance and influence with the other capitalists that railways are now intersecting the length and breadth of the land. Nathan, the brother who resided in England, left four sons, three of whom rank among the most distinguished aristocracy of the British capital; the fourth, Nathan, residing in Paris. The eldest, Lionel de Rothschild, is privileged, as a British subject, to bear the title of an Austrian baron; his brothers being barons only by courtesy. The second has been recently created a baronet of England, as Sir Anthony de Rothschild; and the third, Baron Meyer, is now high sheriff of Buckinghamshire.Baron Lionel de Rothschild was invited by the Reform Association to stand as a candidate with Lord John Russell for the representation of London in the present parliament, and was returned third on the list. It will have been observed that a consultation was held by the chancellor of the exchequer with this hereditary financier, before ministers ventured upon their late celebrated letter, authorizing the Bank of England to extend its issues. Most of the members of this family have married, and live in great splendor here or on the continent; and it must be observed, as something characteristic of the race, that their choice of wives has usually been a good one. In London, where we know them best, the widow of Baron Nathan is held in great esteem for her inexhaustible charity, in the course of which, we observe by the newspapers, she has contributed largely towards the formation of an educational institution for children of the Christian faith. His sister, the lady of Sir Moses Montefiore, is popularly known as a suitable helpmate for her philanthrophic partner. The sister of Baron Nathan, widow of the brother of Sir Moses Montefiore, is likewise well known for her liberality, and more especially for the large funds she has bestowed on the establishment of schools for all religious denominations. But there is another female of this remarkable family whom we must mention in a special manner, and with her name we conclude. She is the widow of the banker of Frankfort, the mother of the five brothers, and grandmother of those flourishing men who are now rising proudly among the aristocracy of Europe. The following notice of this venerable and venerated lady we take from "Les Matinees du Samedi” of G. Ben Levi. "In the Jews' street at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, in the midst of Gothic facades, black copings, and sombre alleys, there is a house of small exterior, distinguished from others by its luxurious neatness, which gives it an appearance of singular cheerfulness and freshness. The brass on the door is polished, the curtains on the window are as white as snow, and the staircase, an unusual thing in the damp atmosphere of this dirty quarter, is always dry and shining. "The traveller who from curiosity visits this street-a true specemen of the times when the Jews of Frankfort, subjected to the most intolerable vexations, were restricted to this infected quarter-will be induced to stop before the neat and simple house, and perhaps ask, 'Who is that venerable old lady seated in a large arm-chair behind the little shining squares of the window on the first story? This is the reply every citizen of Frankfort will make:-'In that house dwelt an Israelite merchant, named Meyer Anselm Rothschild. He there acquired a good name, a great fortune, and a numerous offspring; and when he died, the widow declared she would never quit, except for the tomb, the unpretending dwelling which had served as a cradle to that name, that fortune, and those children.' "Continued prosperity has attended the sons of the pious and modest widow. Their name is become European, their wealth proverbial. They inhabit sumptuous palaces in the most beautiful quarters of Paris, London, Vienna, Naples, and Frankfort; but their mother, persevering in her admirable modesty, has not quitted her comparatively humble house, where those sons come to visit her with respect and reverence, and discharge their duties in memory of their estimable father, thus presenting bright examples for the present time." NATIONAL WEALTH. From "The Past, the Present and the Future. By H. C. Carey." Philadelphia, Carey and Hart 1848, 8vo 474 pp. Wealth is power. The people of the United States have the wealth. That wealth has given them power, dispersed as they were, to do much. Concentration will give them greater wealth, and greater power. Their twenty-one millions produce at this moment a greater quantity of commodities than the people of England, while they build twice as many houses; make twice as many roads; apply thrice the labor to the improvement of land; build four times as many school-houses and churches; and print ten times as many newspapers. The machinery of production is greater than that of England, and all they now want is better machinery of exchange. Let the farmers and planters have this, and population will increase with greater rapidity than ever, for young men will stay at home and marry instead of going to the west; and tens of thousands of mechanics, and of coal and iron miners, will seek the United States; while labourers will come by hundreds of thousands, and every man will furnish a mouth to be fed, instead of, as now, furnishing hands to produce food. They will then be consumers of corn, and wool, and cotton, instead of producers; customers instead of rivals. Corn and cotton will be produced at less cost of labour, and wages in corn and cotton will be higher: while cloth and iron will be cheaper, and the farmer will cease to have to pray for bad crops in Europe: while the planter will find in the increased demand for his product consequent upon the higher wages of England, and of Europe, a certainty of a good market for all he has to spare. Coffee, and tea, and sugar, will then be paid for in cotton cloths, and the men who make the cloth will be customers to himself and to his brother agriculturists of the north, who will use more cotton than at present; while Brazil and Cuba will want more cloths, because they will have a better market for their sugar. Every diminution in the machinery of exchange tends to give more time for improving the great machine of production, whether for cotton or sugar, wheat, rye, oats or hemp: to increase the quantity produced to increase the wages of the labourer and the profits of the capitalists, landed or moneyed: and to increase the comfort and happiness of all. Let but the people of the United States set the example of a determined resistence to the system, and it will be followed by all Europe. French artisans will then seek America and Germany, and France too will have to raise her own food. Her swords will be changed for ploughshares, and her forests will disappear, while her coal mines will be opened. She, too, will learn the art of concentration, and with each step of her progress, the few will become less and the many greater. The people of the United States owe this to themselves, and to the world. They enjoy a higher degree of happiness than has fallen to the lot of any other nation, and they should desire to aid their fellow men in England, in Ireland, in Germany and in India, and by helping themselves they will help them. As colonies, India and Ireland will remain poor. As independent nations, they will become rich, for they too will insist on the right of placing the consumer by the side of the producer. Westward, the star of empire wends its way. From the west to the east civilization has gone, and so it has yet to go: from the base of the Alleghenies to the foot of the Himalaya. The measure is one of peaceful and quiet, but determined, and it should be of united, action. It is one that interests Every man that wishes to cultivate rich lands instead of poor ones: Every man that would raise tons instead of bushels : Every father that would wish to see his sons, and his sons' sons settle round him: Every mother that wishes to see her daughters married: Every son that would have a wife and a home of his own: Every daughter that would have a husband: Every journeyman that would be an employer: Every labourer that would have a farm and house, or shop, of his own: Every property-holder that desires higher rents: Every man that hates crime and loves virtue: Every man that loves literature and art: Every man that loves freedom: Every man that loves the people of England: or of France: Every man that feels for India: Every man that loves his old fatherland, Germany: Every man that loves peace: . Every man that loves his fellow man: Every man that loves his Creator: Every man that desires that the great law of Christ, "Do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you," should become universally operative. It is the great work reserved for the people of these United States, and they have the power to accomplish it. It should be entered upon with the same feeling that animated the Puritans of old: the same that gave confidence to the men who, seventy years since, signed the Declaration of Independence. It should be preceded by a return to peace with an unforfunate neighbor, towards whom they now occupy the position of a strong man pummeling a weak one already on his back, to make him cry enough. That war has already cost more than would have given to every county in the Union a place for exchanging labour, corn, and cotton, or wool, or iron ore, for cotton or woollen cloth, or iron: and if it continue another year, it will cost at least as much more. They have too much land already. They want but concentration to enable them to become both rich and strong. For two centuries past, the world has been perpetually disturbed by the wars of England and France, for ships, colonies, and commerce, Had France had no colonies, there would, probably, have been no wars of the French Revolution after the failure of the invasion of 1792. But for them, France would have been permitted quietly to settle down, in which case Italy, and Spain, Holland, Germany, and Russia would have escaped the war of twenty years, and France might now be rich, powerful, and free. The system of both nations is one of perpetual interference. At one time, Poland is to be excited: at another, she is to be abandoned. At one time Greece is to be aided: at another, Syria is to be delivered over to the tender mercies of the Egyptian pacha: at a third, China is to be made to buy opium, and to open her ports to the cloths of the men who have ruined the poor fashioners of India. At one moment, the affairs of Spain require the interposition of England: at the next, we see her fleets in Portugal, dictating terms to people driven by oppression to revolt. At another, France governs Spain, and the country is made a scene of murderous war, while the court is one of endless intrigue, having for its object the promotion of the interests- not of France, but-of the family of Louis Philippe: all anxious, as French princes have at all times been, for appanages at home, and thrones abroad. For centuries has the European world been agitated by the princes of the houses of Valois and Bourbon, and those of the house of Orleans are well disposed to follow their example. For two years past has all commerce with the La Plata been interdicted, because England and France chose to interfere in affairs that were not their own. They have failed, and the country is worse by two years' wars and poverty. Three years since, the affairs of Texas claimed their attention. Now Switzerland is menaced, while Italy, fearing France, looks to England. But a short time since, the people of the United States |