The following table shows the comparative tonnage and estimated value of property which came to the Hudson River in the years named :—

584,141 | 1854.........

The number of tons of property going from tide-water was as follows :—

And the total tonnage to and from tide-water

The amount of tolls received on the canals wasIn 1853...... $3,204,718 | In 1854...... $2,773,566 | In 1855..... $2,805,076 The above exhibits a falling off in tonnage and an increase of tolls over the previous season. This is accounted for in the fact that the shipments of property paying a high rate of tolls exceeded those of 1854, while, at the same time, there has been a large falling off in those paying a mere nominal toll.

STEAM COMMUNICATION BETWEEN EUROPE AND AMERICA.

In and after May, 1856, fifteen gigantic mail steam-packets will leave Europe monthly for the American continent, viz.: seven English packets, four United States, three Belgian and one Portuguese. Fourteen of these will start from or touch at England, the Portuguese packet being the single exception; eight of the fourteen steamers will start from Southampton, and the remaining six from Liverpool. These mail packets will cross the Atlantic by three different routes, which will terminate on the American side at the Brazils, Central America, and the United States; Rio de Janeiro will be the most Southern point touched at by them, and Halifax, in Nova Scotia, the most northern point. In connection with these Atlantic lines, there will be nearly twenty tributary ones, some of them as long as the Atlantic lines themselves. By these the whole of the American con

down so far south as the River Plate, on the eastern side of the great con

tinent, and from Peru to California, in the Pacific; also the whole of the adjacent islands, including those of the West Indies, will be supplied with European correspondence.

STEAMBOAT ACCIDENTS IN 1855.

The following table embraces the number of steamboat accidents which have occurred on the rivers, lakes, and bays of this country, and which have been at tended with loss of life and injury to persons during the year 1855, together with the number of killed and wounded. We also give a comparative table of like accidents in 1854 :

The following table shows the number of accidents, together with the number of killed and wounded, which have occurred on the various railroads of the United States during the past year, together with a comparative table of the number during 1854. The table contains a record of no accident which was not attended with loss of life or injury to person; neither does it embrace the great number of persons who have been killed and maimed by jumping from moving trains, attempting to get on cars while they were in motion, being run over, &c. :—

Included in the above, there have been killed during the year of the employees

on railroads :

Engineers.
20

Firemen.
19

Conductors.
6

Brakemen.
16

SPAFFORD'S SELF-ADJUSTING SIGNAL

S. M. FELTON, Esq., President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, thus describes a new self-adjusting signal, invented by Mr. Spafford, the superintendent, and now in use on all the drawbridges of that road, between Baltimore and Philadelphia :—

"The motion of the lever which unlocks the draw changes the signal of safety to one of danger before the draw is unlocked; and the motion of the lever which locks the draw when in proper position shows that the signal of safety cannot be shown except when the draw is in its right place, and securely locked. The signal has been subjected to all the tests considered necessary to prove its entire efficiency. The advantage of this signal over ordinary signals is that it is in reality a means of putting it out of the power of the draw tender to make a mistake, and thus cause an accident."

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.

INSPECTION OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES IN LOUISIANA.

We give below the several sections of an act passed by the Legislature of Louisiana at its last session, relative to the inspection of weights and measures. This act was approved March 15, 1855, and repeals all laws contrary to its provisions, except what is contained in the Civil Code and Code of Practice in that State :

AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE INSPECTION OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

SECTION 1. That the Governor, at the expense of the State, shall procure or cause to be procured, one complete set of copper weights, to correspond with weights of their like denomination used by the revenue officers of the United States in their offices, together with scales for said weights, and a stamp or seal, with such devices as the Governor may deem proper; as also one complete set of measures, calculated for dry, liquid, and long measures, of the same capacity and length as those of their like denomination used by such revenue officers aforesaid; which set of weights and measures, together with the scales and stamps, shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, to serve as a general standard of weights and measures in this State.

SEC. 2. That it shall be the duty of the Governor to nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint for each of the four districts of the city of New Orleans a suitable person as a sealer of weights and measures, and he shall appoint in like manner a person in each of the respective parishes of this State, each of whom shall hold the office for the term of two years.

SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of the person thus appointed to visit all places of business in their district or parish for which they are appointed, once in each year, and at any other time, when on complaint or by request, their services may be required, and to inspect all weights and measures used in the places of business, and when found to correspond with the standard of the State, to seal them or to give them a written certificate of their correctness; but when found to disagree with the standard of the State, the inspector shall forbid their further use until they shall have been corrected, approved, and sealed. It shall also be the duty of the inspectors to attend upon all calls made upon them for performing

the duties of their office.

SEC. 4. That it shall be the duty of each inspector to see that no other weights and measures but those established by law be made use of within the limits of this State, and in case of negligence or breach on the part of the inspector, he shall be

condemned to pay a fine not exceeding $200, nor less than $100. The Common Council of New Orleans are authorized to pass regulations or ordinances relative to the police of weights and measures, to insure within the city of New Orleans the execution of this law.

SEC. 5. That each parish, as soon as practicable, shall be provided at the expense of such parish, with a set of weights and measures, and a stamp conformably to those hereinbefore set forth, the same to be kept by the parish recorder.

SEC. 6. That the inspector for the four districts of the city of New Orleans shall procure a set of weights and measures at the expense of the city.

SEC. 7. That the appointed sealer of weights and measures shall be entitled to and receive the following fees:

For each yearly visit and inspection of a full set of steelyards, or of scales with their weights, or of balances with their weights, or of a bushel measure and its parts, or of a gallon measure and its parts, or of a set of yard-sticks, they shall receive 25 cents and no more; for sealing each weight and measure, 5 cents; for the examination of each platform scale, cotton and tobacco scale, and its appara tus, 50 cents, and for sealing the same, 50 cents. The fees in all cases to be paid by the owners of the weights and measures inspected and sealed. The stamp shall be impressed, and payment required for doing the same only on such as have not been stamped, or such as having once been stamped, are found so defective as to require to be regulated with the standard.

SEC. 8. That in case of vacancy by death or resignation, the Governor shall have power to appoint.

SEC. 9. That the inspectors only shall have the power to stamp weights and measures, and upon the stamp shall be the initials of the inspector's name.

SEC. 10. That no person shall buy or sell any commodity whatsoever, by weight or measure, which does not correspond with the aforesaid standard, or are not stamped after the said parishes have procured the standard of weights and meas ures as aforesaid; nor shall keep any such weights or measures for the purpose of buying or selling thereby, under the penalty of $50 for each offense; besides the forfeiture of the weights and measures found to be false, and of a fine of $10 when the weights and measures shall be found to be just though not stamped; said fine to be recovered before any tribunal of competent jurisdiction-one-half to the benefit of the informer, and the other half to the parish in which the offender resides. All weights and measures seized shall be forfeited for the benefit of the stamper, who shall not return them into circulation until he has made them conformable to his standard.

SEC. 11. That whoever shall make, or cause to be made use of, or shall utter false stamps or seals, shall, on conviction thereof, be subjected to all the pains and penalties of forgery under the laws of the State.

SEC. 12. That it is forbidden to sell, or cause to be sold, measures and weights unless they have been tried and stamped by persons appointed for that purpose, under the penalties imposed by the second preceding section.

SEC. 13. That the person appointed to inspect and seal weights and measures may employ assistance when necessary, at their own expense, but shall not commit their functions to a substitute without being subject to dismissal from office by the Governor.

SEC. 14. That there shall be in this State, a dry measure, to be known under the name of barrel, which shall contain three-and-a-quarter bushels, according to the American standard, and shall be divided into half and quarter barrels.

SEC. 15. That coal shall be sold by the barrel or bushel measure; grain shall be sold by the barrel, bushel, or weight. The legal weight of a bushel of wheat shall be 60 pounds; of a bushel of corn, 56 pounds; of a bushel of oats, 32 pounds; of a bushel of barley, 32 pounds; and of a bushel of rye 32 pounds.

SEC. 16. That it shall be the duty of each inspéctor in the city of New Orleans to make quarterly returns, under oath, to the Treasurer of the State, of all the moneys collected for fines, together with a written statement thereof.

THE DUTIES OF HARBOR-MASTERS IN NEW ORLEANS DEFINED.

The Legislature of Louisiana, at its last session, passed the following act regu lating and defining the duties of harbor-masters in New Orleans. This act was approved by the Governor on the 15th of March, 1855, and is now in force :

AN ACT TO REGULATE AND DEFINE THE DUTIES OF HARBOR-MASTERS.

SECTION 1. That it shall be the duty of the Governor to nominate, and by and with the consent of the Senate, appoint four harbor-masters for the port of New Orleans, who shall hold their office for two years; one of whom shall be assigned to each district, designating at the time of his nomination the district to which he shall be assigned.

SEC. 2. That it shall be the duty of the harbor-master for the Fourth District to give a bond with two sufficient securities in the penal sum of two thousand dol lars, and the harbor-masters of the other districts to give bond with sufficient se curities in the penal sum of two thousand five hundred dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties required of them by law.

SEC. 3. That the harbor-masters in case of sickness or temporary absence shall have power to appoint a deputy.

SEC. 4. That the harbor-masters in their respective districts shall have power to demand and receive from the commanders, owners, or consignees, or either of them, of every vessel that may enter the port of New Orleans, and load, unload, or make fast to the levee, within the said limits, at the rate of three cents per ton, to be computed from the tonnage expressed in the register of such vessels, respectively, and no more. This shall not extend to chalons, flats, or keel-boats, which are employed in the river trade, unless, upon the application of the person having charge of such chalon, flat, or keel-boat so employed, the said harbor-master shall interfere and adjust any difference respecting the situation or position of such flat or boat, which difference the harbor-master is authorized to hear and determine, in which case he may demand and receive from the party in default in the premises the sum of two dollars for every difference so adjusted, and no more. The harbormaster of the district within which a vessel shall first moor, and commence discharging, shall be entitled to receive the fees herein allowed.

SEC. 5. That each harbor-master shall keep an exact account of the fees by him received, and shall, at the end of every quarter, make out and deliver to the treas urer of the city of New Orleans, a detailed account or statement, under oath, of the sums by him received, together with the dates when, and names of the vessels from which the same were collected. The harbor-master of the Fourth District shall be entitled to deduct from each quarterly account seven hundred and fifty dollars for his compensation; and those of the other districts shall deduct from each quarterly account the sum of one thousand dollars. The balance, if any, shall be paid over to the treasurer of the city of New Orleans, to be applied to the maintenance of the wharves and other improvements within the limits of said city; and it shall be the duty of the city controller to call upon the several harbor-masters for the port of New Orleans every three months for settlement.

SEC. 6. That said harbor-master shall have authority to regulate and station all vessels in the stream of the river Mississippi, within the limits of the city, and at the levee thereof, and remove, from time to time, such vessels as are not employed in receiving and discharging their cargoes, to make room for such other as require to be more immediately accommodated, for the purpose of receiving or discharg ing theirs, and as to the fact of being fairly and bona fide employed in receiving or discharging their cargoes, the said harbor-masters are constituted the sole judges. And further, the harbor-master shall have authority to determine how far, and in what instances, it is the duty of the master and others having charge of ships and vessels to accommodate each other in their respective situations, and if any master or other person shall resist or oppose the harbor-master in the execution of the duties of his office, he shall for each offense forfeit and pay the sum of fifty dollars, to be sued for by the treasurer of the Charity Hospital of the city of New Orleans, for the use of said hospital.