COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE COMMERCE OF EUROPE.

The Austrian Lloyd's, in an article founded upon official documents, gives the following summary of the foreign commerce of Europe. The European mercantile marine, without including the coasting trade, comprehends 260,000 vessels, measuring in all 33,493,000 tons. The total value of the merchandise they carry is estimated at 11,935,765,000 francs. The proportions per cent which each of the different states of Europe bears in this total value are as follows:-England 51 13-46, France 13 3-5, Holland 5 7-9, Hamburgh 4 4-5, Russia 3 8-9, Sardinia 3 1-6, Belgium 2 1-9, Prussia 2 1-9, Austria 1 4-5, the Two Sicilies 1, Sweden and Norway 1 1-5, Tuscany 1 1-9, Denmark 1 1-45, Bremen 1, Portugal 8-9, Spain 14-15, and all the other states 6 per cent. The result is, that the trade of France and Belgium, taken altogether, is equal in value to that of Germany and Holland united—that is to say, that each represents 15 4-5 of the total. The four taken together represent about 3-5 of the trade of England.

PEPPER TRADE OF PADANG.

An interesting work has recently been published in London, entitled "Trade and Travel in the East." The author, Mr. George Davidson, a shrewd Scotchman, resided twenty-one years in Java, Singapore, Australia, and China. In speaking of Sumatra and the pepper trade of Padang, we find the following observations:

"The pepper trade of the ports to the northward of Padang has ceased to be a profitable one, and is now neglected. European shipmasters used to complain bitterly of the roguery practised upon them by the native dealers; but who taught the native his roguish tricks? Who introduced false weights? Who brought to the coast 56lb. weights with a screw in the bottom, which opened for the insertion of from ten to fifteen pounds of lead, after their correctness had been tried by the native in comparison with his own weights? Who made it a regular rule in their transactions with the native dealer, to get 130 catties of pepper to the pecul, thus cheating him of 30 per cent of his property? I challenge contradiction, when I assert that English and American shipmasters have, for thirty years, been addicted to all these dishonest practices. The cunning and deceit of the native traders at the pepper ports of Sumatra, have been taught them by their Christian visiters, and forced upon them in self-defence."

BALTIMORE MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.

At an election held by the members of the Mercantile Library Association, at their rooms in North Charles street, Baltimore, on Saturday, the 14th November, 1846, the following gentlemen were elected:-Charles Bradenbaugh, President; J. C. Coale, VicePresident; J. T. England, Corresponding Secretary; George Cliffe, Recording Secretary; George W. Grafflin, Treasurer; Edward M. Needles, Benjamin Childs, Pleasant Stabler, A. S. Taylor, George B. Coale, and H. M. Warfield, Directors.

BRITISH CONSULAR SERVICE.

It appears from a British parliamentary document on the consular system of the United Kingdom, that there are 215 consular officers, who, with two exceptions, are paid by the British government, and two others paid by the East India Company. There are also 130 British vice-consuls, who receive no salary from Her Majesty's government, and who are appointed by the superintending consuls. Various salaries are paid to consuls, from £25 to £1,800 a year. There are 14 consular officers in France; the highest salary in France is £650, and the lowest £50. There are 15 in Spain, and 9 in Portugal, and no fewer than 22 in Turkey, and 10 in the United States of America. There are 9 in China. The consul at Canton (Francis C. Macgregor, Esq.,) has a salary of £1,800; three others have £500 each, one £1,200, three £750, and another £500. In Egypt there are five paid consular officers. The consul-general at Egypt (the Hon. C. A. Murray,) has a salary of £1,800. The smallest salary (£25,) is paid to the vice-consul of Otranto, in the two Sicilies.

THE BOOK TRADE.

1.-Etchings of a Whaling Cruise, with Notes of a Sojourn on the Island of Zanzibar. To which is appended, a Brief History of the Whale Fishery: its Past and Present Condition. By J. Ross BROWNE. Illustrated by numerous engravings, on steel and wood. New York: Harper & Brothers. This is a good book of its kind. Written, in some respects, under circumstances similar to Mr. R. H. Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast," it is not a whit behind it, either in value or interest; although, from the elegant and somewhat expensive style in which it has been got up, its circulation will not be so large. Both were educated young men, and both went to sea in the capacity of commnon sailors; with this difference, that Dana undertook the voyage for the recovery of impaired health, and Browne, to gratify a romantic spirit of adventure. Both were without means, and consequently pursued a course that was calculated to open to them scenes, and impart to them an experience, which they would have been deprived of in the ordinary routine of gentlemen travellers. They were, however, gentlemen, without the surrounding circumstances, that would have given quite a different tone to their narratives. The volume of Mr. Browne, occupying more than five hundred pages, embodies a great variety of incident, anecdote, and not a little information concerning the whale fishery, and the places visited in the course of the enterprise. The writer is no stickler for the system of flogging, as practised on board men-of-war, merchantmen, and whalemen. He justly considers it degrading, and void of any reformatory influence; and neither is it calculated to secure a beneficial subordination. How long will it take to discover that men are to be governed by the exercise of justice, humanity, and moral, rather than physical force? We hope to find time, in a future number, to notice this very attractive volume more in detail, and enrich our pages with such portions of it as may seem best suited to the character and design of a commercial Magazine. In the meantime, we cheerfully recommend the work to our readers.

2-Phrenology, or the Doctrine of the Mental Phenomena. By J. G. SPURZHEIM. Two vols. in one. After Gall, the author of this volume stands at the head of the advocates and expounders of the science of Phrenology. A doctrine or a science taught by a man of Spurzheim's cast of mind and character must ever command respect, if it does not obtain the entire credence of that portion of the public who investigate systems and theories. This is the fifth American edition, from the third London, and was greatly improved by the author previous to his death, which took place in Boston on the 10th of November, 1832. The first volume, illustrated with numerous plates, is devoted to the physiological, and the second to the philosophical part of phrenology. There have been many books written on the subject since Spurzheim, and perhaps new discoveries made; but all who would study the science thoroughly, will find it as important to resort to his works, as the theologian does to the Holy Bible. It is published in Harper & Brothers' best style.

3.-A History of the American Revolution. First published in London, under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Improved with a map and other illustrations. Also revised and enlarged. By Rev. J. L. BLAKE, D. D. New York: Harper & Brothers.

We have in this volume probably the most comprehensive, concise, and distinct narrative of the principal events of the American revolution in the language.

4.-Classical Antiquities, or a Compendium of Roman and Grecian Antiquities, with a Sketch of Ancient Mythology. By JOSEPH SALKELD. New York: Harper & Brothers.

This comprehensive manual of Classical Antiquities is divided into two parts-the first containing an account of the political institutions, religion, military and naval affairs, arts and sciences, manners, customs, etc., pertaining to the Romans; and the second those relating to the Grecians. It is admirably adapted to the wants of the classical pupil as a common text book.

5.-Pictorial History of England. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Twelve parts of this splendid work have already appeared. The American reprint is equal to the English. Aside from its pictorial illustrations, which are numerous and striking, in many respects it is the best history of England that has yet been published.

6.-Myrtes, with other Etchings and Sketches. By Mrs. L. H. SIGOURNEY. New York: Harpers. This very pretty volume contains thirteen tales or sketches, some of which have appeared in other forms, while others are now for the first time introduced to the reader. To passionate or high-wrought fiction, Mrs. Sigourney makes no pretensions. The elements of her tales are truthful; and, without any very original or progressive views of life, manners or morals, their tendency is salutary. On the whole, they are calculated to deepen those sympathies that swell the great tide of human happiness. 7.-A Scriptural Defence of the Doctrine of the Trinity; or, A Check to Modern Arianism, as taught by Campbellites, Hicksites, New Lights, Universalists, and Mormons; and especially by a Sect calling themselves "Christians." By Rev. H. MATTISON. New York: Lewis Colby.

The design and character of this little volume of one hundred and sixty-two pages, are sufficiently explained in the title-page, which we have quoted in full.

8.-Experimental Researches on the Food of Animals and the Fattening of Cattle. With Remarks on the Food of Man. By ROBERT DUNDAS THOMPSON, M. D., Lecturer on Practical Chemistry, University of Glasgow. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton.

The importance of the subjects discussed in the present volume with so much ability, will not be questioned; and the fact that the work is based on an extensive series of experiments, made at the instance of the British Government, will impart to it great weight, and secure for it the most serious consideration. The original object of the writer, was to determine the relative influence of barley and malt in feeding cattle; but as the opportunity seemed a favorable one for investigating some scientific problems of great importance to physiology, and of extreme value in the physical management of man and animals, advantage was taken of it, and the author obtained the permission of the government to extend the experiments so as to include these objects. It is an excellent work.

9. Rationale of Crime, and its appropriate Treatment, being a Treatise on Criminal Jurisprudence considered in relation to the Cerebral Organization. By M. B. SAMPSON. From the second London edition. With Notes and Illustrations. By E. W. FARNHAM, Matron of Mount Pleasant State Prison. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia: G. S. Appleton.

Mr. Sampson's work originally appeared in the London "Spectator," in a series of numbers, and was afterwards published by the Trustees of William Ramsay Henderson, of Edinburgh, who made a bequest for "the advancement and diffusion of the science of Phrenology, and the practical application thereof in particular." No one who reads the book can for a moment resist the conviction, that the treatise fully comports with this bequest. It takes a broad and liberal view of the whole subject, and is eminently calculated to subserve the cause of humanity. The notes and illustrations of Mrs. Farnham, the efficient and successful matron of the Prison at Sing Sing, add materially to the value and interest of the work. An appendix by Mrs. Farnham, embraces a number of accurate daguerreotype portraits of prisoners at Sing Sing, Blackwell's Island, etc., whose phrenological developments and corresponding characters, afford ample demonstration of the truth of that science, and forcibly illustrate its importance in education and the management of prisons.

10.-The History of Civilization, from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the French Revolution. By F. GUIZOT, the Prime Minister of France; author of "History of the English Revolution of 1640." Translated by WILLIAM Hazlitt. Vols. III. and IV., Nos. 17 and 18 of D. Appleton & Co.'s Literary Miscellany. Philadelphia: G. S. Appleton.

These volumes close Guizot's Lectures on the History of Civilization; and the four volumes in the elegant and scholarly translation of Hazlitt form, perhaps, the most valuable contribution that has been added to the historical literature of the world, during the present century. The popular form in which the history and its philosophy are imparted, and the eloquence and power of the writer, will fascinate all, and secure a large class of readers who abominate dry details, the lifeless body divested of the soul. But the more statistical reader will find in the chronological and historical tables, which occupy some two hundred pages of the last volume, facts enough to fill folios.

11.-Something for Everybody. Gleaned in the Old Purchase from Fields often Reaped. By ROBERT CARLTON, Esq., author of The New Purchase," etc., etc. Alter et Idem. New York: Appleton & Co.'s Literary Miscellany.

The author of these letters, addressed to one Charles Clarence of Somewheresburg, during the year 1846, is evidently a gentleman of the "old school," that abhors phrenology, abolitionism, mesmerism, and all other isms. He holds a caustic pen, and wields the weapons of wit and ridicule with power and effect. Even when we do not agree with him, we cannot but enjoy the pith and point of his sarcasm and cleverly-turned humor, which is quite overpowering to the risibles. 12.-A Course of Reading for Common Schools and the Lower Classes of Academies, on the Plan of the Author's Elements of Reading and Oratory." By H. MANDEVILLE, Professor of Moral Science and Belles Lettres in Hamilton College. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

We are forcibly impressed with the plan of instruction so clearly and distinctly developed in this work. It is divided into three parts. The first relates to grammar, and contains a description of the different letters of the alphabet, and their various sounds; of syllables, and also of words as parts of speech. The second part contains a classification and description of all the sentences or formulas of thought, in every degree of expression, to be found in the English language, and is designed to render the pupil thoroughly familiar with sentential structure. The third part contains a series of exercises on paragraphs, &c. The advantages of Mr. Mandeville's system, which appears to be perfectly philosophical, are clearly pointed out; and it requires, we should think, only a careful examination, to secure the approbation of all intelligent instructers in our common schools and academies. 13.-Religious Maxims, having a Connection with the Doctrines and Practice of Holiness. BY THOMAS C. UPHAM. Boston: Waite, Pierce & Co.

These maxims relate to the higher degrees of religious experience. They embody, in a concise and simple form, many of the principles which are laid down and illustrated at some length in a larger treatise on holiness, by the same author, noticed in a former number of this Magazine. The intellectual cast of the author's mind, combined with his great purity and benevolence of character, have secured for his writings a class of readers out of his own denomination who regard practical goodness with more favor than the dogmas of the sects.

14.-A Universal and Critical Dictionary of the English Language: to which are added, Walker's Key to the Pronunciation of Classical and Scriptural Proper Names, much improved, and a Pronouncing Vocabulary of Modern Geographical Names. By JOSEPH E. WORCESTER. Boston: Wilkins, Carter & Co.

This new and elegant dictionary covers nearly one thousand royal octavo pages, printed in a small, but handsome and distinct type. In the introduction, occupying eighty-five pages, will be found remarks on orthoepy, on pronunciation, orthography, etymology, a complete grammar, archaisms, provincialisms, Americanisms, and various other points of philosophy and lexicography, together with full explanations of the principles adopted by the compiler in the preparation of the work. The Dictionary of Johnson, as corrected and enlarged by Todd, and Walker's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, have been made, in some degree, the basis of this work; but the words found in those dictionaries have been carefully revised, with regard to their orthography, pronunciation, definition, &c.; and a great part of them, especially such as relate to the arts and sciences, have been defined entirely anew. To the words found in Todd's Johnson, nearly twenty-seven thousand words have been added; and for these words authorities are given. The work contains a much improved edition of Walker's Key to the Pronunciation of Classical and Scripture Proper Names; and to Walker's Vocabulary about three thousand classical names have been added. It also comprises a Pronouncing Vocabulary of about four thousand modern geographical names. The several vocabularies are computed to contain upwards of one hundred and six thousand words. Great attention has been bestowed on pronunciation; and, with regard to words of various, doubtful, or disputed pronunciation, the authorities for the various modes are exhibited; so that this dictionary will show the reader in what manner these words are pronounced by all the most eminent English orthoepists. The grammatical forms and inflections of words have been given more fully than ever before in any English dictionary; and brief critical notes on the orthography, the pronunciation, the grammatical form and construction, and the peculiar, technical, local, provincial, and American uses of words, are scattered throughout the volume. The design has been, to give the greatest quantity of useful matter in the most condensed form, and to specify, as far as practicable, authorities in doubtful and disputed cases.

15.-The Sacred Mountains. By J. T. HEADLEY, author of “ Napoleon and his Marshals," etc. New York: Baker & Scribner.

The design of these sketches is to render more familiar and life-like some of the scenes of the Bible. The idea of the author was a happy one, and beautifully and faithfully has it been carried out in this really splendid and attractive volume. The plates eleven in number, are accurate drawings of Mount Ararat, Bethlehem, Mounts Moriah, Sinai, Hor, Pisgah, Carmel, Lebanon, Zion, Tabor, and Olives, as they now appear, with the exception, that from some of them, mosques have been removed, so as to give them their original form. The descriptions illustrative of the engravings, are written in the same glowing, eloquent style, that characterizes the author's "Napoleon and his Marshals" with the loftier inspiration of a purer and more befitting theme. The engravings are from paintings by artists of unequivocal merit, and the engraver has furnished spirited, and we have no doubt, accurate copies. Though differing in some respects from the "annuals," it will not suffer by comparison in its typographic dress, with the best of them; and it possesses a value and an interest far more durable than any of them.

16.-The Rose of Sharon, a Religious Souvenir for 1847. Edited by Miss S. C. EDGARTON. Boston: A. Tompkins and B. B. Mussey.

This annual has outlived most works of its description, a fact that speaks well for the enterprise and liberality of the publishers, the taste and judgment of its accomplished editor, and the spirit of the times. It was an attempt, on the part of all concerned, to embody the great thoughts of the present, blending whatever in the past was worthy, from its intrinsic and immutable interest, with the progressive mind, that is becoming daily more and more identified with higher hopes, and a larger humanity. It is a “religious souvenir" in the truest meaning of the term-free from the jarring discords of sectarianism, but overflowing with faith in good, hope in God, and charity to the race. Its literature is chaste and pure, and at the same time manly. The artists, too, have lent their aid to render the work an ornament to the "centre table" of the most refined "domestic circles." In few words, without attempting to criticise the character of the original productions, collected from a noble band of the "good and the gifted," we can heartily commend it to our readers as one of the best works of Its class which we have ever seen.

17-The State of the Departed. By JOHN HENRY HOBART, D. D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the State of New York. Fourth edition. New York: Stanford & Swords. Speculations on the state of those who have "shuffled off this mortal coil," will doubtless occupy the minds of men so long as the world stands, or until spirits shall return to earth, and disclose to the inexperienced the precise nature of man's destiny in the future; and if they but serve to make us wiser and better, enlarging our benevolence, and purifying our hearts, no good man can certainly desire that their place in our minds should be obliterated. The late Bishop Hobart has embodied in this volume the opinions of the wise and good in past ages, and given us his own on the subject.

18.-The French Revolution: A History. BY THOMAS CARLYLE. In 2 vols. Parts 78, 79 and 80 of Wiley & Putnam's Library of Choice Reading.

19.-On Heroes, Hero- Worship, and the Heroic in History. Six Lectures: Reported, with Emendations and Additions. By THOMAS CARLYLE. Wiley & Putnam's Library, &c., No. 69. 20.-Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdrockh. In three Books. Wiley & Putnam's Library of Choice Reading, No. 74.

We have neither room or capacity to speak of Carlyle and his works, according to their merits. His French Revolution is considered one of the most remarkable works of the age-as at once the poetry and philosophy of history. That on "Heroes and Hero Worship" has interested us the most. It is full of original and stirring thought, and more easily comprehended than "Sartor Resartus," a curious affair, which we confess our incapacity to take in; indeed we have never seen any one who fully comprehended it; and we have somewhere seen it suggested, that it was probably understood wholly by nobody but the author. The reading, we mean the thinking public, (Mr. Carlyle gives and demands thought) will be glad that Wiley & Putnam have entered into a liberal arrangement with Mr. Carlyle to republish all his works in the admirable style of their "Library of Choice Reading;" with the exception of the "Miscellanies" which have been published by Carey & Hart of Philadel phia. The editions of W. & P. have been, (we quote from Mr. Carlyle's "Imprimatur" affixed to each work,) "read over and revised into a correct state for Messrs. Wiley & Putnam of New York, who are hereby authorized, they and they only, so far as I can authorize them, to print and vend the same in the United States."

21-Goethe's Autobiography. Poetry and Truth from my Life, from the German of Goethe. By PARKE GODWIN. In two parts, forming Nos. 75 and 76 of Wiley & Putnam's Library of Choice Reading."

This last great work of Goethe's is a literary treasure. Called upon in mature life by a friend to furnish the connecting links to his numerous works-to state the times when, and the circumstances under which, his different productions were brought forth, he finds the causes of his various writings so interwoven with incident, and so connected with the history of the times through which he had passed, that it had become necessary for him to unfold to us his whole life, and the successive development of new traits of character, and each new train of thought. Goethe's very name possesses a charm, and any work of his has great interest; but this more than all others. It gives us the Man, not by the hands of another who could neither know nor appreciate him, but he shows himself to us, and we thank him for it. Even the mere student of history will prize this work, and far more the student of character. The translation of the book is well done, and entirely supersedes one made in England a short time since.

22.-The Spirit of the Age; or Cotemporary Portraits. By WILLIAM HAZLITT. First American Edition. New York: Wiley & Putnam's Library of Choice Reading."

Several similar works by other pens have been produced since the appearance of Hazlitt's "Spirit of the Age;" but none of equal power. Indeed, as an essayist or critic, the author deservedly enjoys an enduring reputation. The men whose characters are here portrayed, were cotemporary with the writer, and with most of them he was personally acquainted. The statesman, political economist, the essayist, the poet and the novelist of the last quarter of the eighteenth, and the first quarter of the nineteenth century, are exhibited in bold relief, by the hand of a master; and the critical analysis of them has afforded material for the lesser lights of literature ever since the first appearance of the series.

23.-Notes on the Northwest, or Valley of the Upper Mississippi, comprising the Country between Lakes Superior and Michigan, East; the Illinois and Missouri Rivers, and the Northern Boundary of the United States; including Iowa and Wisconsin, part of Michigan Northwest of the Straits of Mackinac, and Northern Illinois and Missouri. By WILLIAM J. A. BRADFORD. New York and London: Wiley & Putnam.

The ground covered in the present work is briefly described in the title-page, which we have quoted above entire. The work is divided into five parts. The first and second relate to the physical geog raphy and history; the third, to the population, political system, civil divisions, municipalities, and topography; the fourth, to society, laws, pursuits, life, habits, and health of the Northwest, and to the public lands; and the fifth, and last, to the aborigines and the monuments. There is, besides, a copious and valuable appendix, touching the mineral resources, inonuments, plants, etc., of that region of country. The author was, we believe, some time Secretary of State in Illinois; and the materials for his work are drawn not only from the most authentic sources of information, but from his personal observation. It is an instructive volume for the library; and, at the same time, though not strictly a guide, yet more useful to the emigrant than a book of mere details can be; imparting to him those general ideas of the country which will be always of no less value than a knowledge of minute particulars in relation to certain places.

24.-The Actor; or, A Peep Behind the Curtain. Being Passages in the Lives of Booth, and some of his Cotemporaries. New York: W. H. Graham.

Those who take an interest in theatricals, will find this quite an amusing, if not instructive little volume. The scenes and characters are cleverly described; and it abounds in anecdotes, not only of the hero of the narrative, but of many of his cotemporaries.