Rivers.-The Mississippi separates Louisiana from the state of Mississippi for a considerable distance, and flows by several channels through the Delta of Louisiana into the Mexican gulf. It is navigable for vessels of any size. The Red river runs through the state in a south-east direction, and discharges a vast quantity of water into the Mississippi, 240 miles above New Orleans. The Washita runs in a south direction in the north part of the state, and enters Red river, a little above its entrance into the Mississippi. Bayou Lafourche and Atchafayala are large outlets of the Mississippi. The other rivers are the Black, Tensaw, Sabine, Calcasieu, Mermentau, Vermilion, Teche, Pearl, Amite, and Iberville. Lakes. The largest lakes are Pontchartrain, Maurepas, Borgne, Chetimaches, Mermentau, Calcasieu, and Sabine.--U. S. Gaz. Trade.-There were twenty-four commercial and 381 commission houses engaged in foreign trade, with a capital of 16,770,000 dollars; and 2465 retail dry-goods and other stores, with a capital of 14,301,024 dollars; 597 persons were employed in the lumber trade, with a capital of 260,045 dollars; three persons employed in internal transportation, with 291 butchers, packers, &c., employed a capital of 144,523 dollars.-Official Returns. Manufactures.-The value of home-made or family articles manufactured, was 65,190 dollars; two cotton manufactories, with 706 spindles, employed twenty-three persons, producing articles to the value of 18,900 dollars, with a capital of 22,000 dollars; six furnaces produced 1400 tons of cast iron, and two forges produced 1366 tons of bar iron, employing 145 persons, and a capital of 357,000 dollars; twenty-five tanneries employed eighty-eight persons, and a capital of 132,025 dollars; seven other manufactories of leather, as saddleries, &c., produced articles to the value of 108,500 dollars, with a capital of 89,550 dollars; one pottery employed eighteen persons, producing articles to the value of 1000 dollars, with a capital of 3000 dollars; five sugar refineries produced to the value of 770,000 dollars; 101 persons produced confectionary to the value of 20,000 dollars; machinery was produced to the value of 5000 dollars; and hardware and cutlery to the value of 30,000 dollars; fifty-one persons produced carriages and waggons to the value of 23,350 dollars, employing a capital of 15,780 dollars; mills of various kinds produced articles to the value of 706,785 dollars, employing 972 persons, and a capital of 1,870,795 dollars; vessels were built to the value of 80,500 dollars; 129 persons manufactured furniture to the value of 2300 dollars, with a capital of 576,050 dollars; five distilleries produced 285,520 gallons, and one brewery produced 2400 gallons, employing twenty-seven persons, and a capital of 110,000 dollars; seventy-five persons manufactured 2,202,200 lbs. of soap, 3,500,030 lbs. of tallow candles, 4000 lbs. of wax and spermaceti candles, with a capital of 115,500 dollars; 248 stone or brick houses, and 619 wooden houses, employed 1484 persons, and cost 2,736,944 dollars; thirty-five printing offices, five binderies, eleven daily, twenty-one weekly, and two semi-weekly newspapers, and three periodicals, employed 392 persons, and a capital of 193,700 dollars. The whole amount of capital employed in manufactures was 6,430,699 dollars.-Official Returns. Education.-Louisiana college, at Jackson, was founded in 1825; Jefferson college, at Bringiers, was founded in 1831; St. Charles's college, at Grand Coteau, is under the direction of the Catholics, Baton Rouge college, at Baton Rouge, was founded in 1838; Franklin college, at Opelousas, was founded in 1839. These institutions had, in 1840, 437 students. There were in the state, fifty-two academies, with 1995 students; 179 common and primary schools, with 3573 scholars, and 4861 white persons over twenty years of age who could neither read nor write.U. S. Gaz. Religion. This state was originally settled by Catholics, who are still the most numerous denomination. In 1835, they had twenty-seven ministers. The Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians exist in considerable numbers, and are increasing.-U. S. Gaz. Banks.-At the commencement of 1840, there were forty-seven banks and branches in this state, with an aggregate capital of 41,736,768 dollars, and a circulation of 4,345,533 dollars.— (See Banks of the United States hereafter.) Public Works.-This state has a number of important works of internal improvement. Pontchartrain railroad extends from New Orleans, four miles and a half, to Lake Pontchartrain, at a cost of 450,000 dollars. West Feliciana railroad extends from St. Francisville, twenty miles, to Woodville, Mississippi. New Orleans and Carrollton railroad extends from New Orleans, four miles and a quarter, to La Fayette. Orleans-street railroad, extends from New Orleans, four miles and a quarter, to the Bay of St. John's. The Mexico Gulf railroad, extends from New Orleans east, to Pascagoula sound. The Orleans Bank canal extends from New Orleans, six miles, to Lake Pontchartrain, and cost 1,000,000 dollars. Canal Carondelet extends from New Orleans, one mile and a half, to the Bay of St. John's. Barataria canal extends from New Orleans, eightyfive miles, to Berwick bay. Lake Veret canal extends from Lake Veret, eight miles, to Lafourche river. The New Orleans and Nashville railroad extends eighty miles in this state, and if completed, will be 564 miles in length. It is in progress.-U. S. Gaz.-American Almanac for 1845. PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND SEAPORTS. NATCHITOCHES (pronounced Nakitosh), 368 miles north-west by west of New Orleans, 1287 miles from Washington. It is situated on the west side of Red river, 200 miles above its junction with the Mississippi river, at the foot of a bluff, and is built chiefly on one street. It has considerable trade. It was settled by the French in 1717, and half the present inhabitants are of French descent. Population, about 2400. NEW ORLEANS, the capital of Louisiana, is situated on the left bank of Mississippi river, 105 miles from its mouth, by the course of the river, but only ninety miles in a direct line; 1132 miles from St. Louis, 1397 miles from New York, 1612 miles from Boston, and 1172 miles from Washington; in 29 deg. 57 min. north latitude, 90 deg. 6 min. west longitude from Greenwich, and 13 deg. 5 min. west longitude from Washington. The population, in 1810, was 17,242 ; in 1820, 27,176; in 1830, 46,310; in 1840, 102,193; of whom 23,448 were slaves. Employed in agriculture, 1430; in commerce, 7392; in manufactures and trades, 4593; navigating the ocean, rivers, &c., 1590; learned professions, 438. Tonnage of the port, in 1840, 126,612.-U. S. Gaz. Official Returns. "The old city proper is in the form of a parallelogram, of which the longer sides are 1320 yards long, and the shorter, toward the swamp in the rear, 700 yards. Above the city are the suburbs of St. Mary and Annunciation, and below are the suburbs of Marigny, Franklin, and Washington. These are called fauxbourgs. Between the city and the bayou St. John's, are the villages of St. Claude and St. Johnsburg. The old city proper was laid out by the French, and now forms not more than one-eighth of the city limits, and not more than one-third of its thickly settled parts. In 1836, the legislature passed an act, dividing the city into three municipalities, ranking them according to their population. The first includes the city proper, extending with that width from the river back to Lake Pontchartrain, and occupying the centre; the second adjoining it above, and the third below, both extending from the river to the lake. Each municipality has a distinct council for the management of its internal affairs, which do not encroach on the general government. "The situation of New Orleans for commerce is very commanding. The length of the Mississippi river, and its connected waters, which are navigated by steam, is not less than 20,000 miles, and the country which they drain is not surpassed in fertility by any on the globe. Its advantages for communication with the country in its immediate vicinity are also great. By a canal, four miles and a half long, it communicates with Lake Pontchartrain, and its connected ports. This canal cost 1,000,000 dollars. There is also a canal, one mile and a quarter long, which communicates with Lake Pontchartrain through bayou St. John. A railroad, four miles and a half long, connects it with Carrollton. A railroad, four miles and a quarter long, connects the city with Lake Pontchartrain, one mile east of bayou St. John. The Mexican Gulf railroad extends twenty-four miles to Lake Borgne, and is to be continued to the gulf, at the South pass. The Mississippi, opposite to the city, is half a mile wide and from 100 to 160 feet deep, and continues of this depth to near its entrance into the ocean, where are bars, with from thirteen feet and a half to sixteen feet of water. The level of the city is from three to nine feet below the level of the river, at the highest water. To protect it from inundation, an embankment, called the Levee, is raised on its border, from four to ten feet high, and generally from twenty to forty feet broad; but in front of the second municipality, by the annual deposits made by the river, and the filling up by the corporation, it is extended to 500 or 600 feet broad. This forms a splendid promenade, and a very convenient place for depositing the cotton and other produce from the upper country, which can be rolled directly from the decks of the steamers to the bank of the river. The levee extends from forty-three miles below the city to 120 miles above it. The harbour presents an area of many acres, covered with flat-boats, and keel-boats, in its upper parts. Sloops, schooners, and brigs, are arranged along its wharfs, and present a forest of masts; and steamboats are continually arriving or departing. The amount of domestic articles exported, exceeds 12,000,000 dollars annually, being greater than those of any other city in the union, excepting New York. The houses of the city proper have a French and Spanish aspect, are generally stuccoed, and are of a white or yellow colour. A basement story, about six feet high, forms the only cellar, as none are sunk beneath the surface of the ground. The city proper and the fauxbourg St. Mary, are compactly and substantially built. The buildings in the fauxbourg St. Mary, and many other parts of the city, are mostly of brick, and resemble those of other cities of the United States. The city proper contains sixty-six complete squares; each square having a front of 319 feet in length. Few of the streets, excepting Canal-street, are more than forty feet wide. Many of the seats in the suburbs are surrounded with spacious gardens, splendidly ornamented with orange, lemon, magnolia, and other trees. No city in the United States has so great a variety of inhabitants, with such an astonishing contrast of manners, language, and complexion. The French population probably still predominates over the American, though the latter is continually gaining ground. The water generally used in the city is rain water, contained in cisterns holding from twenty to fifty hogsheads each. The Commercial Bank water works, which cost 455,000 dollars, raise the water twenty or thirty feet above the city, and distribute it by pipes, having an aggregate length of twelve miles. The city water works have a pipe one mile long, to furnish running water, in hot weather, through the gutters of the city, which cost 110,000 dollars. A draining company, with a capital of 640,000 dollars, has two steam engines for draining the marshes between the city and Lake Pontchartrain, of thirty-five square miles in extent. The land is thus made valuable, and the health of the city improved-although it is still unhealthy, from July to the middle of October. The city contains a state house, custom house, two exchanges, a United States' mint, a United States' land office; five banks, with a capital of more than 10,000,000 dollars; a large and splendid Roman Catholic cathedral, ninety by 120 feet, with four towers; the Ursuline convent; three theatres; the College of New Orleans; a charity hospital, which has received 900 patients in a year; three other hospitals; an orphan asylum; and various other charitable institutions. There are two large and several smaller cotton presses, of great importance to the business of the city. There are fewer churches than in any other city in the union, in proportion to its size. The Roman Catholics have three, the Episcopalians two, the Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists, one each, and there is a mariners' church."-U. S. Gaz. In 1840, there were eight commercial and 375 commission houses, with a capital of 16,490,000 dollars; 1881 retail stores, capital 11,018,225 dollars; thirty-two lumber yards, capital 67,800 dollars; six furnaces, capital 355,000 dollars; hardware manufactured to the value of 30,000 dollars; one cotton factory, 700 spindles, capital 20,000 dollars; tobacco manufactures, capital 60,000 dollars; one tannery, capital 50,000 dollars; two distilleries, capital 56,000 dollars; three sugar refineries, value produced 700,000 dollars; three steam saw mills, capital 175,000 dollars; eighteen printing offices, five binderies, nine daily, six weekly, and two semi-weekly newspapers, with a capital of 162,200 dollars; 201 brick and stone, and 210 wooden houses built, cost 2,234,300 dollars. Capital in manufactures, 1,774,200 dollars -Official Returns. New Orleans being the great outlet and inlet of the trade and products of, as well as of imports into, the western states, many of the statistical returns of its trade, will be found hereafter, in the tabular statements of the internal trade of the United States. REGULATIONS OF TRADE AT NEW ORLEANS. TARIFF of Charges agreed upon and adopted by the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. General Tariff of Commissions, applicable to Foreign, The following Rates, in like manner, to be specially apNorthern, and Western business:plicable to Western and Local Business :Accepting drafts or endorsing notes, without funds," produce, or bills of lading in hand Cash advances, in all cases, even with produce or bills of lading ... 21 On sales of sugar, molasses, cotton, tobacco and lead per ct. 5 24 1 do................... If with guarantee of bills...................................................... Selling vessels or steamboats Purchasing do. Collecting freights................................................................. per ct. 2 For shipping to another market, produce or merchandise upon which advances have been made 2 Effecting insurance (except when the commission for buying and selling has been charged), on the amount insured ' Procuring freights 5 If the premium exceeds 10 per cent, then on the amount of premium 5 Negotiating drafts or notes, as drawer or endorser.. 24 5 Effecting marine insurance where the premium does not exceed 10 per cent on the amount insured.. If the premium exceeds 10 per cent, then on the amount of premium Adjusting and collecting insurance, or other claims, without litigation..... Agency for Steamboats :— ..... 24 Per Trip. dls. cts. - with litigation 5 Under 120 tons.. 30 00 Purchasing and remitting drafts, or receiving and paying money on which no other commission has been charged. If the bills remitted are guaranteed.. If bills and notes remitted for collection are pro- Landing, reshipping, and custody of merchandise or 1 2 54 Consignments of merchandise withdrawn, to pay full commissions on amount of advances and responsibilities, and half commissions on the invoice value of the goods withdrawn. The above rates to be exclusive of brokerage and other charges actually incurred. Besides charges actually incurred, and the regular commission for particular services, such as collecting freight, paying disbursements, &c. Loss by fire (unless insurance has been ordered), of robbers, theft, and all unavoidable accidents, if the usual care has been taken to secure the property, to be borne by the owners of the goods. Rates of Receiving and Forwarding Goods, exclusive of Sugar......... dls. cts. ........per hogshead 1 00 Molasses.................................do. 1 00 .....do. 1 00 .kegs or boxes 0 20 manufactured.. The following Rates' to be specially applicable to European and other Foreign Business, any thing in the Cotton, on the value, 24 per cent, or.. per bale I 00 preceding General Tariff to the contrary notwith- Liquids.. standing: Cotton, moss, &c. Bacon Tobacco........ Pork and whiskey Flour ........ .... ............................. .................... Lard Per Month. dols. cts. ...in casks, 1568 lbs. ..........in bags, 1830 "9 ...in casks, 1120 .....in bags, 1300 Pimento...........................in casks, " 950 ....in bags, 1100 8 barrels of 196 "7 Beef, pork, tallow, pickled fish, and naval Flour... stores.. ....... Pig and bar iron, lead, and other metals or ..per bale 1 00 per hogshead 0 50 .do. 0 25 .................per barrel 0 10 ......do. 0 06 ..per keg 0 05 .each 0 03 .......... per bale 0 25 .......................... per pig 0 02 ...per ton 1 00 0 50 .......per cask 0 25 to 50 ................................ per keg 0 05 Dry-goods, on deposit ........per package 025 to 50 Grain, peas, and beans.... .................in casks, Coffee, salt, spices, &c. ...........per bag 0 06 Liquids ...gross ......in casks, ................... in bags, .. in bulk, Wines, brandy, spirits, and liquids generally, reckoning the full capacity of the casks, wine measure 6 barrels ............ in bulk, 36 33 36 "2 31 ..do. 28 " 40 cubic ft. 1120 lbs. When molasses is shipped by the hogshead, without any special agreement, it shall be taken at 110 gallons, estimated on the full capacity of the cask. RATES OF THE NEW ORLEANS STEAM TOWBOATS. THE following Rates have been agreed to by all the Owners, and will be most strictly observed : All vessels to be charged for American tonnage. When foreign vessels are not measured, they will be charged twenty per cent in addition to their registered tonnage. All vessels while in tow of the boats will be considered at their own risk; and vessels taken astern will be charged the same as if towed alongside, and in proportion to the distance they may be towed, should they be cast off in consequence of bad weather, or for any cause beyond the control of the master of the boat. When any vessel is towed in or over the bar, and proceeds up the river under canvass, and the boat reserves a berth for her, she shall be bound to pay from the point where the engagement shall have been made. Vessels on shore or in distress, that require the aid of a boat, will be charged as per agreement between the masters of the boat and vessel. In all cases where cargo is received on board, it is understood to be at the risk of the ship or vessel, either as it regards damages or loss; neither will any receipts be given by the master or officer of said boats for goods received on board of them, but the masters of vessels may send such persons as they may think proper to take charge of them. Vessels requiring the aid of two boats to get over the bar, will be charged as follows: In the event of the boats not being able to get the ship or vessel over the bar, after a fair trial, such price will be charged for the services so rendered as the nature of the case requires ; not, however, to exceed the prices above-named. Vessels without rudders, or when the rudder is broken, so as to render them unserviceable in steering the ship or vessel, will, in all cases, be charged double the above rates. All towage down will be payable on the arrival of the steamers at the Pilot's Station at the Southwest Pass, or Balize. |