full amount, whilst the currency in which they must be REPORT TO THE COAL MINING ASSOCIATION. At the Annual Meeting of the Coal Mining Associa tion of Schuylkill County, held on the 4th of January, 1834, the Board of Trade presented the following Report, which was read and ordered to be printed. officers to serve for the ensuing year:- Andrew Russel, President, BURD PATTERSON. Vice President, JOHN C. OFFERMAN. Secretaries, Charles Lawton. Treasurer, Board of Trade. Benjamin H. Springer, from causes too obvious to name. They cannot be re- Francis B. Nichols, Thomas C. Williams, At a meeting of the Board of Trade on the same evening, B. H. SPRINGER, was appointed President, and THOMAS C. WILLIAMS, Secretary. REPORT. In again convening with the Association at their Annual Meeting, the Board of Trade feel it their duty to remind the members of the object for which they asso ciated, and to call their attention to the present state of the Coal Trade, that they may be able to form some rational conclusion of what the prospect of the Collier In the report made in January, 1833, they gave a brief compend, designed as a nucleus around which they expected to gather sufficient information to lay the foundation for an inquiry into the actual state of the Coal Trade, that a full history of the Anthracite Region might grow out of it, they were aware the materials for such a history were scant, and that the information to be obtained was to be gleaned from many and various sources, and much of it from the early settlers of the country; many of whom are not engaged in the trade and cannot be supposed to feel that interest in it that those who are embarked in it should feel. have been deemed worthy the attention of more com The Board indulged a hope that the subject would Many of the gentlemen in this House remember how the extensive debts which were contracted during the late war, at a time when the country was overrun with a suspected and tattered currency; how by the resumption of specie payments, that currency became suddenly diminished, and how those who had the misfortune to owe debts contracted daring this period, were compelled to pay them in a medium enhanced in value in proportion as it had diminished in quantity. This state of things I fear is now rapidly returning upon us, and should Congress adjourn without providing some remedy, that country to whose interests and prosperity we all profess so much devotion will be visited by a degree and measure of calamity which years of returning pros perity will not be sufficient wholly to efface. If this House will but give its instructions to the Delegation in Congress, they will have made some effort to avert a deep and heavy calamity; the responsibility will then rest with them. If we do not express our opinion we must share their responsibility. I for one am not will-ty, are deemed by us too trivial to be registered, may ing to meet my constituents without being able to say to them I have made an effort for their protection, and I invite, nay I conjure my colleagues in their names to aid my feeble efforts in their behalf. I have suffered with them in their former calamity, and they shall not have it in their power to reproach me with silence or inaction when another more appalling is impending over their heads. If, as I said before, any gentlemen has a better plan to propose, I will support it; if not, I ask a support for this: but I implore every one to make some effort before we separate. If the interest of the country is in - jeopardy, we certainly ought at least to do all in our power to save it. petent persons than themselves, and that a trade of such the attention of a competent historian-but as no one vital importance to the state would have commanded has yet undertaken the task they must be content to collect and treasure up all the information in their power, that when the time arrives they may be prepar ed to furnish this quota for the general good. Scenes and occurrences, which, from their familiari at a future day be anxiously inquired into, and much matter for history may be lost, by our neglecting to notice what we deem too common to be worthy of a place on record. We owe it to posterity, to the future explorers of this and other regions, to collect and husband every species of information in any manner connected with the trade. We should not be deterred by the supposition that the information is trivial or of little use, but we should collect and record every information from the earliest workings to the present day, and leave posterity to glean from our experience such information as may be useful to them. The Board, like others of the Association, are engag ed in the active prosecution of mining, and must, of necessity, depend on others for information on many points connected with the trade, as far as their own ex- Virginia being the product of numerous beds, is difficult perience extends, they can speak with certainty; but to obtain. The Board are about taking such steps as we are all aware that causes produce different effects, will, they hope, result in their being able to lay before in different places, and that what would operate favora- the Association at an early day a full and correct account bly in one vein or bed, might produce an entire different of all the coal, bituminous and anthracite, sent to and effect in another vein,-that to insure a benefit to all sold in the cities on the sea board: in the mean time there should be a free and general interchange of opin-they annex an account of foreign coal imported into ion with all engaged, and they therefore urge on the the United States for the last 12 years, together with members the necessity of noticing every change in their the amount exported. veins, to take and preserve a full description of their workings, all faults, throws or troubles, and transmit from time to time the information they acquire. • Much information may be had from those who were the earliest pioneers, some of whom still linger amongst us, and we earnestly enjoin it on the Association to collect from that class of citizens all the information they possess without delay, many of those men are aged, and the knowledge they possess, if not soon obtained, must be forever buried in the grave with those who possess it. If the course recommended is followed without delay, the Board feel confident that in two or three years at farthest they will have a full description of the region as well as every vein in it, and be able to determine the long disputed points of how far the veins extend, and whether or not they preserve their character through out. Another subject of great importance to the trade is the comfort of the operators and laborers employed; | many of that class, like the same class of men in other places, are improvident, and squander during the summer all their earnings, and when the winter sets in and a partial stop is put to business, they are destitute of the common necessaries of life. Year. 1822 Bushels Expor'd Remaining for consumption. Imports in tons of 28 bushels. 627,737 8,318 619,419 22,122 970,828 4,167| 966,661 34,523 854,983 2,846| 852,137 30,433 1826 722,255 4,140 1827 1830 1,372,970 4,758| 4,329 1831 1,640,295 12,480 The increased quantity imported since 1827, is principally if not entirely derived from the Pictou and Sydney mines in Nova Scotia. Those mines are the property of a company formed in England some years since, and were originally owned by the Duke of York,—after the death of that prince and his creditors became possessed of the property, they formed of it a joint stock company, and have perseveringly endeavored to introduce the stock into the United States, that an interest might be made sufficient It is believed that a Saving Fund Institution on a plan similar to those in our cities will have a beneficial effect, and be the means of preventing much distress. The Board therefore recommend that we ask the co-ly strong to reduce or abolish the existing duty on coal; operation of our citizens in an application to the Legis lature for an act authorising the formation of a Saving Fund Institution in this county. In the Report made last year the supply of coal required for 1833, is estimated at 480,000 tons, of which it was supposed the Lehigh company would furnish 100,000 tons, the Lackawanna 90,000, and the Schuylkill region 270,000 tons, and that a surplus of 20,000 tons should remain over of the former supply. It will be borne in mind that the estimate was made in January, when it was fair to infer that we would have the usual quantum of cold, but the unusual mildness of the winter prevented the consumption of a large amount of fuel, and when the navigation opened, there was remaining unsold in the cities a much larger amount than was anticipated, the heavy amount on hand when the season opened deterred dealers from coming early into the market and prevented the amount from this section reaching the quantity estimated, while the Lehigh and Lackawana Companies (who are miners and shippers of Coal) commenced early in the season and exceeded the amount at which they were rated, but in the aggregate the quantity sent to tide water varies but a comparatively small amount from the estimate made. We subjoin an account of all the Anthracite Coal sent to tide water the past season, viz: they have in part succeeded, and at this time a large amount is held in the Eastern and Middle States, a great portion of it at a price merely nominal, the influence of the ho'der being considered equivalent to the difference between the price paid and the par value; to this may be attributed the exertions that have been made and are now making to have the duty reduced,— but a trade of such importance to the nation, a trade that gives employment to so large an amount of tonnage in the coasting trade, and from its certain increase (if fostered by the government,) may be looked to as a nursery for our seamen, cannot be sacrificed by the nation to satisfy the cupidity of a few designing men. And it is believed that it only requires that Congress │shali be made acquainted with the state of the trade, and its importance in a national point of view, to insure its protection. There has been and still continues to be a great di- . versity of opinion on what might be deemed a fair standard price for coal, but to establish a fair scale of prices is beyond the reach of any engaged in the trade, and must continue so until the consumers have become better judges of the quality of the different beds, time will determine the grades, and already a discrimination is made in many places between the different sections from which coal is sent, and while the hard whiteash coal of the Lehigh is preferred in some places, the Lackawanna, with the same colored ashes, but with a more open and lighter texture, finds friends and admirers in another quarter. The Little Schuylkill Coal, partaking of the character of the Lehigh, but of a softer quality, also has its admirers, but to the Schuylkill proper a preference is decidedly given in most or all of the Eastern cities. In this immediate region alone is to be found the red ash coal, so highly esteemed in New York and other *The late Report of the Secretary of he Treasury does not enable us to furnish the quantity exported. cities, as also the pure hard coal of the Broad Mountain, and the grey ash of the intermediate range. Your Board feel confident that ere long coal will be come so well known that it will command a price according to its quality, and like wood will bear the same rates as now exists between the best hickory and the worst pine. At the close of the navigation there were 570 boats, averaging 41 tons each,-a large portion of those are old and must be drawn off, but it is believed a sufficient number will remain for the business of the next season, if the price of freight is sufficient to enable the owners to run them with any prospect of profit. The canal may now be relied on, and the embankments having acquired solidity, the interruption to which we were frequently subject, owing to frequent breaches, are not likely to occur again. The following table will show the time of opening and closing the canal from the period of its completion to the close of the past It is generally understood (when speaking of tolls) that one dollar per ton covers all that the Navigation Company claims; but there are other charges which are not only burthensome, but being out of public view makes them more oppressive than open and direct charges; they consist of back tolls on empty boats, certificates for weighing, and ferriages over dams claimed by individuals, and over which the Navigation Company exercise no control, making together a charge of ten cents per ton. The Board will address the Navigation Company on those subjects, and from the liberal and commendable course the Managers have heretofore pursued, they feel confident those charges will be abolished, and such a reduction made on the toll as will place this section in a situation to compete successfully with our rivals in other districts. They have taken measures to obtain a correct account of all the coal remaining in first hands, and expect in a short time to be able to lay before you an estimate that may be relied on; at present it cannot be done with certainty, as a large amount of that laying in depot at Philadelphia, re purchased for other places, and will be forwarded as soon as vessels can be obtained for its transportation. An estimate of the quantity of Coal on the several landings in Philadelphia has appeared in some of the public papers, which is highly erroneous, and calculated to deceive the public into a belief that there is a much larger quantity on hand than there really is; we impute no improper motive to the compiler of that statement, being well aware of the difficulty of forming a correct conclusion without actual measurement, but being acquainted with the grounds covered, and with the actual amount on some of the landings mentioned, we feel warranted in saying the estimate is much above what it really should be. It is usual to estimate a cubic yard of coal in the ground and undisturbed as one ton,-but coal varies in weight according as it is hard or soft, and the allowance is altogether arbitrary, yet on an average may hold good; but when estimating a pile of coal due allowance should be made for wastage, &c. &c. &c. From experiments made on several piles of a medium hardness it is found that it requires 40 cubic feet to produce one ton of clean coal, so that the quantity stated to be in first hands in Philadelphia, (63,445 tons) would, if piled 50 feet wide and 8 feet high, extend 2114 yards, or more than 1 1-5 miles. The policy of mining extensively during the winter months has long been doubtful, and experience has proved that it can be done with more advantage when the season opens and the coal can be sent direct to market; this course appears to be admitted by all engaged, and it is believed that when the navigation opens, the stock will be small in comparison with former years, and should purchasers be tardy in coming forward, it is feared an advanced rate of wages will be demanded dur ing the summer. The increased consumption has thus far kept pace with the increased supply, and was no impediment thrown in the way, we might safely anticipate a demand for 500,000 tons for the coming year, but the novel and alarming position assumed by the President of the United States, by which he attempts to regulate and control the currency and funds of the nation, if not promptly and effectually checked by Congress, will paralize our trade and prevent our sending to market the quantity which a healthy state of trade would warrant, dependent as the coal trade is on the cities and manufactoring districts, all that effects them is immediately felt by the Collier, and it is much feared that the mistaken course adopted by the President if persisted in and sustained by Congress, will include us in the general ruin that impends over the nation. Should our forebodings prove unfounded and trade be once more allowed to follow its accustomed course, our section is prepared to furnish its full quota, and from the increased credit of our article, we have reason to expect we will do our full share of the next year's business. In conclusion, the Board cannot withhold the expression of their gratification at the high character our article has obtained in the market, and they feel every confidence that the Colliers of Schuylkill county will, by following the course they have heretofore pursued, preserve the reputation of their staple, and add to the confidence now reposed in them. In behalf of the Board. BENJAMIN H. SPRINGER, President. Pottsville, Jan 4, 1934. APPEAL IN BEHALF OF THE EXPATRIATED POLES! To the citizens of the City and County of Philadelphia. Fellow Citizens.—The duty of addressing you in favor of the destitute exiles from Poland, was devolved upon us by the town meeting assembled for the purpose of deliberating on that subject on the evening of the 30th ultimo. We approach this cause with feelings at once of melancholy and of pleasure-of melancholy, that in any quarter of the Globe, and in this enlightened age there should be found a despotism so heartless, and a policy so brutalized, as to render such an appeal necessary— and of pleasure, from the confident hope that your generous feelings will, with their accustomed promptitude, respond to the call in favor of human suffering and of outraged freedom. You need not be told how magnanimously these men have contended in their recent struggle for their rights and liberties. You are fully informed of the glorious self devotion with which "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor" were pledged for that which you all regard as dearer than life-the freedom of their country. You are abundantly apprised that another has been added to the long list of crimes, which have within the last century been perpetrated by the hands of lawless power, against the rights and liberties of Poland. You do not require to be reminded that the treachery of her foreign despots, and the tyrannical exercise of power, gave the first impulse to the late revolution. You have felt a poignant anguish at the recital of the wrongs, insult and cruelty with which the sons and daughters of Poland have been treated since the disastrous fall of her capital. Your souls have swelled with exultation and gratitude when you heard that the venerated champion of liberty in Europe, had raised his voice in behalf of the glorious band of Polish heroes. You have felt that the claims of those whose souls have been tried under the banner of Skryznecki, in the sacred cause of liberty-a cause in volving the happiness of themselves and their posterity, are entitled to your warmest regards and most liberal munificence. You have spoken, indeed, while the contest was yet raging. Even then did your thousands assemble to cheer the struggle for freedom, and your generous youth burned to repay the debt of gratitude which Polish heroism had imposed on their sires. Though your noble purposes were thwarted, and your indignant hearts sank at the melancholy tale of defeat which soon ensued, yet we do not allow ourselves to doubt, but that you will seize the present occasion, to testify at once your gratitude for ancient obligations, your admiration for heroic martyrdom to liberty, and your detestation for all who have, in any quarter of the world, aided, abetted, or with complacency regarded the catastrophe of the gallant people whose sons are now among us. There is in every truly American heart, a feeling which we will not insult by the insinuation, that it needs on an occasion like the present, any prompting of ours to urge it into action. wisdom of their decision, in seeking amidst the sons of Washington and brethren of Lafayette, the asylum which has ever been tendered to the virtuous and the oppressed? Would the countrymen of Kosciusko, Pulaski, and De Kalb, have done justice either to themselves or to you, by any other decision than that of flying to your sympathy and protection? We earnestly solicit you to contribute liberally, as your circumstances may permit, towards relieving the immediate necessities of these exiles now thrown upon your charitable regard. Destitute of resources, and ignorant of our language, their sole dependence is on your benevolence. A moderate sum will be sufficient to provide for their immediate wants, and to furnish this Spartan band with the means of speedily establishing themselves, as useful and valuable citizens of our republic. But a most meritorious and effective relief may be afforded to them, by furnishing them with employment-to rescue them from the humiliation of a dependence on charity. Farmers and gardeners in the neighborhood, who may em. ploy them at a small stipend beyond their board and lodging till they acquire some skill in the labors of our country and in our language, will deserve well of them and the country at large. Respectfully, John Swift MATTHEW CAREY, Chairman. H. G. A Blankman. Philadelphia, May 5, 1834. From the Philadelphia Gazette. You are not, fellow citizens, called upon to afford PHILADELPHIA INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF They have, by incurring the hatred of despots at home, shown themselves pre-eminently deserving of the sympathy of the humane and generous of every nation, and in an especial manner of the lovers of freedom in America. They come to your shores after every hope and prop of liberty has been ruthlessly torn from their native land. They could not endure to walk among the monuments of Poland's greatness and magnanimity, polluted as they are by the accursed hands of tyranny. They braved death in every form until they saw the graves of their glorious ancestors marked with the hated footsteps of Muscovitish despotism. They clung to the hope of protecting female innocence and helpless infancy, until both had been torn by barbarian violence from their altars and their firesides, and consigned ofttimes to separate hopeless exile, amid the dreariness of a Siberian desert. Instead of finding on the territory of neighboring nations the hospitality which their gallant conduct ought to have insured, they found no alternative except that of either embarking to these distant shores, or being driven back into the power of the inhuman conquerors to be consigned to the horrrors of banishment to a distant and inhospitable clime. Can you, under these circumstances, doubt which ought to have been their choice! can you question the VOL XIII. 40 At an annual meeting of the contributors to the Penn A. HENRY was called to the Chair. The following report of the Board of Directors was laid before the Contributors. The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, respectfully present to the Contributors, the following report of the state of the Institution during the past year. Within that period one hundred and six deaf mutes have enjoyed the advantages of the Institution, either wholly or in part, eight have left it, twelve have been admitted, and there now remain ninety-eight; of this number forty-six are supported on the foundation of the State of Pennsylvania, twelve on that of Maryland, and six on that of N. Jersey, twenty-five are supported by their friends, one by the Institution, and the remaining eight are employed in various capacities. The Board report with regret the death of Susan Mary Tanneyhill, a pupil on the foundation of the State of Maryland. The deceased was one of our best pupils-she died on the 24th of last July, of inflammation of the brain, after an illness of twelve days, having been in the Institution four years and one month. She was interred in the burial ground of the Methodist church, in the southern part of the city, her parents being connected with that denomination of Christians. With this melancholy exception the Board have as heretofore to acknowledge their gratitude to God for the continued healthfulness of the interesting family committed to their charge, and that no fatal disease has been permitted to visit it. They also deem it a du ty to express their obligations to Drs. G. B Wood, Wm. Rush, and J. Randolph, the physicians connected with the Institution for their benevolent and assiduous attention. This able medical attendance combined with the salubrity of location, and the unceasing attention of the Matron,must inspire parents with full confidence that their children are as safe and comfortable, both in sickness and in health, as they could be in the homes which they have left. The Board bear testimony with pleasure to the entire qualification of the Matron, Hannah Elfreth, for the ardous duties entrusted to her. Mr. James C. Sharon resigned the situation of teacher, in September.-Mr. Benjamin B. M'Kinley of this city, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, was appointed a teacher on the 16th September, and Mr. Jas. C. Kerr, a graduate of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, received a similar appointment on the 21st of November. Mr. Joseph Pyatt, a deaf mute, educated in the Institution, was received as an assistant in the schools on the 3d of March. The frequent change of instructors has been found in this, as in all similar Institutious, a serious disadvantage which the Board trust will be greatly obviated, by the plan suggested in their last report, of employing one more teacher than is absolutely necessary. It will no doubt be found of advantage to have a portion of the teachers, deaf mutes, as there will be less probability of their being diverted from their arduous, though interesting occupation, to lighter or more profitable pursuits. We have great pleasure in recording our entire satistisfaction with the exertions of all teachers, and deem it but justice particularly to note the devotion and ability of Mr. Abraham Hutton, the principal, who has most assiduously employed twelve years of his life in the service of the Institution, and in the responsible duties which have been devolved upon him, the labour of which has been much increased by the frequent resignation of his fellow labourers. The pupils are divided into six classes of which one, in addition to his general superintendence, is under his immediate instruction. The mechanical and horticultural exercises of the pupils have been continued, and afford an agreeable and healthful relaxation to all, and to some the means of future livelihood. An honorary certificate was awarded to the female pupils, for straw work,by the Franklin Institute at their last exhibition. It becomes necessary now, to notice another mode of selling lands in the province, which was adopted in the Numerous additions have been made to the cabinet year 1735, by lottery; the scheme of which was puband library A list is annexed of those to whom the In-lished on the 12th of July, in that year, and was as folstitution is indebted for donations. The editors of several of the city papers send copies of their Gazettes to the Institution, for which, as well as for their liberality in publishing the advertisements of the Institution, the thanks of the Board are justly due. The Treasurer's account shews the receipts and expenditures during the year. The Board conclude their report with feelings of gratitude to Almighty God for the continued blessing with which he has smiled on the efforts of this Institution to restore to the intercourse of social and religious life, a portion of the human family whom his mysterious Providence had apparently consigned to all the miseries of ignorance of his existence, and of their own powers, and to exclusion from the occupations and enjoyments of the present life, and the anticipations of that which is to come. By order of the Board. WM. WHITE, President. ROBERT HARE, Jr. Secretary. lows. Scheme of a lottery for one hundred thousand acres of land in the province of Pennsylvania. The honorable the proprietors of the province of Pennsylvania, having considered a proposal made to them for the sale of one hundred thousand acres of land, by way of lottery, and finding that the same tends to cultivate and improve the lands, and consequently increase the trade and riches of this province; and also considering that many families are, through inadvertency, settled on lands to which they have no right, but by becoming adventurers in such a lottery may have an opportunity of securing those lands and settlements at an easy rate, to themselves and their posterity; have therefore agreed, 1. To sell by way of lottery 100,000 acres of land, and estimate the same at the settled price of fifteen pounds ten shillings, current money of this province, for one hundred acres, which amounts unto the sum of £ 15,500 And that the same be purchased by the sale of 7,750 tickets, at forty shillings each, which likewise amounts to 15,500 * Messrs. Samuel B. Morris, John Pray, Samuel R. 2. That whereas a quit rent of one half penny sterWood, Alex. Struthers, Mitchell Graham, John P. En-ling for every acre, (or four shillings and two pence for gles, John Linton, James U. Kerr, Robt. T. Evans, John Gibson, Capt.John Phillips, Mrs. Hannah Elfreth, Mrs. Hannah Paleske, Mrs. Follin. every hundred acres) is now annually reserved on all lands granted by the proprietors; yet for the particular benefit and advantage of the adventurers in this lottery, |