shafts of each of these columns in one piece; they are two feet in diameter, and fourteen feet long. The marble that has been delivered during the past year, fully equals our expectations, both in quality and quantity. No difficulty has occurred in obtaining the largest blocks that will be required in the construction of the College: some of these blocks have already been conveyed to the building with great facility. In consequence of their unusual size, considerable preparation was necessary, before the contractors were ready to furnish them; we therefore experienced some delay in the early part of the work, but such an arrangement has been made, as to insure the delivery of the heaviest pieces, as rapidly as they will be required. The quarries of Messrs. Jacobs & Cornog are now in a better state for obtaining marble, than they have been since the commencement of the work;-these gentlemen have ready for delivery several large column blocks, and a considerable quantity of marble for the capitals, all of which they are now about commencing to convey to the building. All the contractors for furnishing marble have complied with their respective contracts. Some delay oc curred, in obtaining stone for the window jambs, but it was in consequence of their unusual size. The contractors are now occupied in quarrying the corresponding stones for the second story, so that no future difficulty will arise from this cause. All the lumber for forming the centres, for the arches of the first story, is under contract, and a considerable portion has already been delivered; these centres will be constructed during the winter, so as to commence setting them, as soon as the walls are uncovered in the spring. We have suspended for the winter, all work which could not be performed in the shops, and securely covered the walls and arches, so as to protect them from injury by frost. There have been two millions of bricks, sixteen thousand superficial feet of marble, three thousand se ven hundred cubic feet of granite, and one thousand one hundred perches of rubble stone, used in the building during the past year. There are now on the ground, about seven hundred thousand bricks, reserved for commencing work in the spring; we have also about six thousand feet of finished ashlar, window cornice, sills, &c., and seven thousand seven hundred cubic feet of marble in the rough, suitable for capitals, cornices, &c. The whole quantity of marble delivered during the past year, amounts to 26,082 cubic feet. ground,' and not yet made use of in the Making the cost of the building in its present 23,000 165,044 A sum which is understood to be more than $40,000 less than the income from the college funds during that period. Permit me most respectfully to invite your attention to the subject of the "out buildings "Whether it is expedient for the general execution of the purposes of the Will of Mr. Girard, to begin the instruction of the orphans before the completion of the college, is a subject on which I do not presume to offer an opinion; but what I venture respectfully to suggest, is, that the works of the college are now so far advanced that the operations can be extended very easily, and advantage. ously as they may now be all included under the same system of management, without any additional expense for superintendence. In this view of the subjec', I submit for your consideration the propriety of commencing one of the out buildings in the spring; it could be completed for use and occupied before the large recitation rooms in the college would probably be wanted; and the whole work, both college and out buildings, could thus advance together, not only without disadvantage, but with mutual benefit to each other, both as it regards economy and appearance. I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, TO JOHN GILDER, ESQUIRE, tatives a report from the Director of the Mint, exhbit- ANDREW JACKSON. The farm house, that was in progress of execution at the time I made my last annual report, has been completed; there have also been erected a barn, spring The Hon. the Speaker of the House of Representatives. house and kitchen. All the land not occupied in the building of the college, amounting to about 28 acres, has been put under good fences, and rented to a farmer. The expenditures from December 23, 1833, to December 23, 1834, amount to There are now on the ground materials and workmanship unpaid for to the amount of To which sums, add the expenses of 1833, amounting to Making the whole expense since the com- Making the sum expended and yet due on $112,048 14,500 MINT OF THE United StateS, Philadelphia, January 1, 1835. Sir:-1 have now the honor to submit a report of the general transactions of the mint during the last year. The coinage effected within that period amounts to $7,388,423; comprising $3,954,270 in gold coins; $3,415,002 in silver; $19,151 in copper; consisting of 11,637,643 pieces of coin, viz: Half eagles 196,544 Quarter eagles 8,500 Half dismes 762,169 pieces, making $3,660,845 117,370 do 293,425 Half dollars 6,412,004 do 3,206,002 71,500 63,500 74,000 Cents 18,551 600 The deposits of gold within the past year, have amounted, in round numbers, to $4,389,030; of which about $1,067,000 consisted of coins of the United States, issued previously to the act of 28th June, esta. The coinage of gold under the new ratio, commenc. ed on the first day of August, the earliest period permitted by the act. In anticipation, however, of a change in the legal valuation of gold, it had been considered proper to suspend the coinage of all deposits received after the 1st June. Previously to this period, the sum of $383,545 had been coined, so that, of the above amount of the gold coinage for the past year, $3,570,725 consist of coins of the new standard. This amount, however, is the result of the operations of the mint during only five months of the year, corresponding to an amount, for a full year, of about 8 millions in gold. Within the same period, the coinage of silver was regularly maintained at the average rate of the whole year, making a general result of both gold and silver corresponding to a yearly coinage of nearly $12,000,000. The amount in gold in the vaults of the mint on the 1st August was $468,500; the amount now remaining in the mint uncoined is $435,000; no part of which was deposited earlier than the 9th December. The amount of silver remaining in our vaults for coinage, is, in round numbers, $475,000; no part of which was deposited earlier than the 20th Novembe The amount of silver coined within the past year, it is satisfactory to state, has exceeded by about a quarter of a million the silver coinage of any previous year; while the gold coinage has exceeded the aggregate coinage of gold during the nine preceding years, from 1825 to 1833, inclusive. The influx of silver during the past year having very considerably exceeded the amount contemp ated in the estimates for the year, occasioned, during a large portion of that period, an unusual retardation in the delive ry of coins; and the amount of deposits has no doubt been restrained, to some extent, by this consideration. The estimate for the current year, it is believed, will cover the power required to meet the whole demand for coinage, in a due proportion of the several denominations of coin. from the year 1824 to 1834, inclusive. STATEMENT of the amount of Gold produced annually, from the Gold Region of the United States, Mr. Chandler presented the annexed report to the Common Council, which was laid on the table. Gray's Ferry, beg leave to-Report: The joint special committee, to whom was referred the memorial of sundry citizens asking that Councils would investigate the subject of a canal on the west Annexed is a table exhibiting the amount of gold re-side of Schuylkill from Fairmount to Mill Creek near ceived from the gold region of the United States, annually, from the year 1824, inclusive. It will be observed, that the progressive increase in the amount received from that quarter is less conspicuous within the last year. This results, it is believed, in a very material degree, from the attention which has, during that period, been directed to arrangements for working the veins from whence have been derived those superficial deposits of gold, which, being most obvious, have heretofore attracted the principal regard. Nothing has occurred to weaken the impression before enter tained as to the exent and richness of the gold mines of the United States, but much to confirm the confidence before expressed, not merely in their increasing productiveness, but in their permanency. I have the honor to be, With great respect,⚫ Your obedient servant, The PRESIDENT of the United States. Director. That in compliance with the spirit of the memorial, your committee gave notice of their readiness to hear what could be advanced as evidence, that the proposed canal would not be at variance with the City's prosperity; and our fellow citizens, Thomas Kittera and Thomas Mitchell, Esqrs, the former as council for the applicants, and the latter as one desirous of the measure attended the meetings of the committee, and took part in the proceedings. Your committee after hearing for three evenings, testimony from gentlemen introduced by the friends of the proposed canal, have come to the conclusion, founded as well upon the testimony adduced, as from a knowledge of the yet unimproved capabilities of the western front of the city to accommodate additional trade, and upon an appreciation of the expenditures, to the public and private, already made for future operations, as also upon the claims which the water works have upon the jealous regard of these Councils, that it is the duty of the Councils, not to change the course which they have pursued, with reference to the propos ed canal. And they therefore offer the following resolution: Resolved, That the committee be discharged from a further consideration of the subject. JOSEPH R. CHANDLER, The undersigned, constituting the minority of the Joint Committee of the Select and Common Councils, appointed, on the 18th ult., to investigate the merits of the application to the Legislature for the incorporation of a company to construct a canal on the west side of the Schuylkill, from Fairmount to Mill Creek, beg leave to submit their views in relation to it. [JANUARY and security against accidents. On the Schuylkill, the ter, and hauled alongside of elevated wharves, concase is otherwise; they are brought down into tide wa structed for the high tides of that river. This circumstance limits the urloading to a few hours, probably not more than three in each tide; and owners desirous of unloading two boats in twenty-four hours, at the same place, can effect this object only by having the work work is liable. done at night, with all the objections to which night ed from one to five days; the crews disperse, and the From this cause, boats are often delayoperation of unloading, which elsewhere is done by the boats crew, is here entrusted to a separate class of workmen, who charge a high price for their labor.Their charge usually amounting to three dollars per boat, (averaging forty-five tons,) or about 6 2-3 cents boat unload immediately on their arrival, as they do per ton, would be readily saved, could the crew of the elsewhere. The arrangement of our wharves on the Schuylkill is unfavorable to the screening and handling of coal, prior to shipment. It is easy to conceive that a more favorable disposition could be obtained by means of a canal elevated six feet above tide water, as propos-Much valuable information was derived from persons to facilitate the screening of coal on permanent screens ed by the petitioners, the effect of which would be connected with the trade on the Schuylkill, and ac quainted with the character of the projected improve-lings of the coal, and all the waste by breakage incident and to avoid at least one, and in some cases two handment, and the result of it has been, on the minds of the upon the same. undersigned, a conviction that the work is one calcu-ed at from eight to ten cents, and the waste at about ten Each handling of coal may be estimatlated greatly to promote the interests of the trade of cents per ton. Philadelphia, and thereby to advance the prosperity of our city. They are also of opinion that these results can be obtained without jeoparding in the least the great interest which we all feel in the security of our water works, as to either the abundance or the purity of their supply from the Schuylkill. And they believe that this scheme can be carried into execution without materially interfering with any of the real interests of the city. Soon after the organization of the committee, at the request of various persons interested in this work, and on the motion of one of the committee, leave was granted to all persons feeling an interest in the scheme, to submit their views in relation thereto, and every facility was given to the receiving of evidence, either for or against the work. The freight from Pottsville to Philadelphia, last year, averaged about one dollar per ton assuming twelve days as the duration of a trip, and the average detention on the Schuylkill, below Fairmount dam, to be about two days, (which estimate accords with the evidence of competent and respectable witnesses,) it follows that on a load of forty-five tons of coal, during the last year, the boat's crew earned at the rate of $3 75 per day; and that an improvement calculated to reduce the length of the trip by two days, would have effected about seventeen cents per ton. If the trip were performed in ten days, as stated in evidence, the daily a reduction of freights of about $7 50 per boat load, or earnings would be $4 50, and the saving twenty cents fluctuations of tide, and from the heavy swells on the per ton. At present, the boats lie in the river, and are exposed to considerable injury, and some risk, from the Schuylkill during stormy weather. Abundant proof In order to appreciate the importance of this project, it will be well to bear in mind that the trade on the Schuylkill in front of the city was, so late as the year, 1825, confined to a few unimportant objects, employ ing only vessels of the smallest size, and requiring very little wharf accommodation; but that, since that period, a trade amounting already to upwards of 400,000 tons annually, has been created. Large as this may appear, it is but the forerunner of that which our city will soon command, provided a judicious foresight prepares the way for it, by affording to it accommodations comnien-dam and the city wharves; and in some cases even those exists that boats have been sunk between Fairmount surate with its growing magnitude and importance. that were fastened to wharves, have been endangered An examination of the progressive increase of the trade, by occasional high tide, and south-westerly storms, or shows that (with two temporary exceptions only, resulting from those vicissitudes to which all commercial by heavy floods in the river. communities are liable) the increase in the later years has been much greater than in the first years of this series. The whole of our wharves applicable to the purposes of shipment are now in demand, and the rents which some of them yields, would, a few years since, have been deemed incredible. The objects which are brought down the Schuylkill are of the most bulky nature, and require extensive accommodations, while their low price, and small intrinsic value, render it desirable that they should be subjected to as sinall a tax for wharfage, storage, &c. as possible. The evidence submitted to the committee, establishes the fact that the coal trade, which now constitutes somewhat more than half the business done on the Schuylkill, is subjected to very serious obstructions, such as are avoided by companies that ship their coal from depots situated elsewhere than in the city of Philadelphia. The transfer of coal from canal boats to the wharf, by the Lehigh Coal Company, at Bristol, and by the Delaware and Hudson Company, at Rondout, is effected with great ease; boats unload in a canal or basin at all hours, with every advantage of low wharves, reduction of charges on the coal trade which would re- appear when we consider the very uncertain character That this result is a desirable one, will sufficiently of that trade, now in its infancy, but which, if duly favored, is destined to impart to our state a degree of Union. And it behooves the citizens of Philadelphia, wealth and importance unequalled by any state in the seriously to reflect upon the fact, that by the industry and enterprise of our neighbors, two of the three large depots of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania are now made to pour their wealth directly into the city of New York. Short as has been the period since the first application of mining to the large depots of Pennsylvania, we have already witnessed the order of nature evidently twice made to yield to the enterprise of man, and the product of our state directed from its natural channel to a new one. The valleys of the Lackawanna and of the Lehigh, which at one time were thought to be the unailienable, as they were the natural tributaries of the Delaware, are now sending their produce directly to New York. The coal of the former crosses the Delaware at Carpenter's Point, to seek a distant market; and that of the Lehigh crossing the same stream at Easton, or at a lower point, will by means of the Morris Canal, but especially of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, seek a foreign market. While our citizens are lulled into security, our neighbors have been active in executing works by which nearly one half of the coal of Pennsylvania will pass away for ever from our markets to theirs. It is true we have it in our power to check their operations and to promote the success of our commerce. We may by increasing the facilities of the Schuylkill trade, and reducing the charges upon it, bring the coal of the Schuylkill into market, on more favorable terms, than those upon which the New York merchants can receive that of other depots by their canals; and it is unquestionably the interest of the city of Philadelphia to do so if she values the extensive coasting trade, and the influx of foreign capital which the produce of Schuylkill county can be made to procure for her. The undersigned are further of opinion that as soon as the trade upon the Pennsylvania Canals shall have been created, as it must very soon be, the demand for wharf accommodation on the Schuylkill, for depots of grain and country produce, will be immense. The increase from this source alone in the ensuing ten years, will probably surpass, certainly equal that which we have witnessed from the coal trade in the last ten years. If the twenty-two millions of dollars which the State has invested in her public works, and the five millions expended by the Union Canal Company, and by the Schuylkill Navigation Company, are ever to yield, as we doubt not they will soon do, ample fruits, it must be by carrying upon the Schuylkill a trade of immense extent, requiring the most expanded accommodations. Already we have witnessed the existing warehouses on that river crowded with goods destined for the interior and with the return cargoes of flour, grain, &c. If moreover, we consider that all the Schuylkill coal required for the city consumption, must always be landed on this side of the river, we need entertain no apprehension that the execution of the canal on the west side will materially affect the value of our city front on the Schuylkill. We will not pause to inquire into the direct advantages which the city might derive from this increased facility to the coal trade, arising out of the large and valuable tracts of Anthracite and Bituminous coal lands bequeathed to her by Stephen Girard, and Elias Boudinot; but we will call the attention of Councils to the great value which the new Almshouse property on the west side of the Schuylkill would acquire. It is in evidence before the committee that the front of that property on the Schuylkill could be immediately converted into depots for the shipping of coal, producing a large income to the city, if rented, or greatly reducing the amount of debt on that property if sold. It should be borne in mind, that the city proper has a large interest, say from one half to two thirds, in the property and debts of the corporation of the Guardians of the Poor, that the expense of erecting the new Almshouse, including the purchase of the land, does not fall much short of one million of dollars, and that the tax upon the city for the support of the poor now rises as high as thirty four cents in the one hundred dollars. The projected canal would pass through this property, for a distance of not less than 4000 feet, enabling the city to relieve itself by its advanced value from a very heavy burthen. Indeed, the advantages which would result to the city from the execution of this work appears to us so direct and palpable, that nothing but a well grounded apprehension that they might be accompanied by other consequences of an injurious character, can justify an opposition to it on the part of the city. The objections which have been raised to it are: 1st. Its effect upon the Water Works at Fairmount. 2d. Its injurious tendency as regards the health of the county. 3d. The withdrawal of a portion of the inhabitants from the city to West Philadelphia. 4th. The reduction in the value of our wharf property on the Schuylkill This last objection we have already expressed our belief is unfounded. The first of these would, undoubtedly, be the most serious, if it were well founded; but, in the opinion of the undersigned, there is no reasonable ground for apprehension. It has been said, that the reduction in the waters of the Schuylkill, occasioned by the construction of this canal, would endanger the supply of the city. If this opinion had not been advanced by gentlemen of known experience and judgment, the undersigned would scarcely have credited that such an apprehension could be entertained; and even now, with great deference to the judgment of others, they can scarcely forbear viewing it as one of the evidences of that nervousness with which every thing connected with the Fairmount Water Works is usually considered. Assuming the canal to be two and a half miles long, thirty feet wide at bottom, with a water surface of forty-five feet, and a depth of five feet, it will be found that its capacity is equal to 2,475,000 cubic feet; and its surface 594,000 square feet. The locks of the Schuylkill Navigation Company at Fairmount, are eighty feet long, nine feet lift, and their width is in one lock fourteen feet, in the other seventeen feet-giving for the average capacity of the locks 11,160 cubic feet. So that the whole capacity of the canal would fall short of 222 locks full of water. It was proved before the committee by evidence of an experienced engineer in the service of the Navigation Company, that it is a large allowance to suppose that the loss of water in the canal by leakage and evaporation, would, after the second year from its completion, amount to forty-five cubic feet per minute per mile. At this rate, the total loss by leakage and evaporation daily, on the whole canal, would be 162,000 cubic feet, or less than fifteen locks full daily; and it would require upwards of fifteen days for the water to waste away, if no additional supply were introduced.— This is taken from the experience upon 123 miles or more on the New York canal. On the Ohio canal two experiments made by this engineer, the one on nine, the other on forty miles, gave for results a loss of thir teen cubic feet in the first, and of twenty five cubic feet in the second per minute per mile; which would greatly reduce the danger of waste of water from the making of this work. But even admitting the largest loss which we have heard of, that which took place on the long levels, with extensive embankments, of the New York Canal, during the first year or two after its being opened, and before it might be said to be perfected, even then the loss is far from considerable. In this extreme case it is stated at 70 cubic feet per minute, per mile; which would amount on the projected canal to 252,000 cubic feet per day, equivalent to less than 23 locks full, and require near ten days for the canal to empty itself entirely by this means, if all access of water were stopped. A short calculation from these data proves that even at this extreme rate of loss, the total consumption of water by evaporation and leakage would during the whole season of navigation, scarcely exceed half the amount of water now consumed for lockage, even admitting that the arrangement of business were such that every chamber full of water that is now wasted passed two boats, one ascending and the other descending. According to the evidence submitted by a gentleman of signed deem it proper to state that the nature of the ground would forbid the execution of such a scheme, if other causes did not operate against so repulsive a thought. The sewer of the Almshouse will pass several feet under the bottom of the canal. It would be arched over, and entirely concealed from sight. 3d. The withdrawal of a portion of the population of the city to the vicinity of the canal has been alleged as one of the evils to flow from this work. The undersigned do not view it as likely to produce such a result. The business on this side of the Schuylkill will always be active, and require the labour of the same population that now works there. A new impulse would be given to the trade of the city, and any in scientific acquirements who was examined before the Committee, the whole daily evaporation on two and a half miles of the canal, taken at the maximum of the results recorded by philosophers, would be only half the capacity of one of the chambers of the locks at Fairmount-a result so small, that after making the largest allowances for differences of climate or errors of experimentors, the quantity is scarcely deserving of notice. The evidence of persons familiar with the ground, over which the canal would pass, clearly establishes that, with due care, a very good and watertight work can be constructed. The blue clay which is found on part, if not on the whole of the line, is declared by competent judges to be almost impervious to water: wherever the canal passes through it, no leak-crease of population required by West Philadelphia age could take place; and where it does not occur, it could be readily brought to the spot so as to make the work water tight. But it is easy to secure ourselves against all losses by introducing a clause in the Bill, directing that gates should be placed at Fairmount, under the control of an officer appointed by the city, to be closed whenever a scarcity of water in the Fairmount dam, or the leaky condition o fthe Canal below, would produce an apprehension of an insufficient supply for the city Water Works. To this and other salutary restrictions it is understood that the applicants would cheerfully assent. will be drawn from other sources. At any rate, the traders in coal will always find it desirable for them to reside in the city, near to the centre of commercial transactions. The canal will only attract the class of persons actually engaged in handling the coal. If the canal be not made, the same population will be required in Spring Garden and Penn Township, or at the mouth of the Schuylkill, and the undersigned cannot discover how the circumstance of their leaving West Philadelphia would impair the prosperity of the city proper. The latter may be considered as the heart, the former as the limbs, and whatever produces a healthy growth, and thriving at the extremities must always promote strength and healthy action at the centre. It has been urged at this work would impair the pur ty of the Schuylkill Water. It is difficult to conceive how the water above Fairmount Dam on the east side of the Schuylkill could be affected by the opera- The undersigned have thus attemped to consider the tions of a coal trade on a Canal two miles below the advantages and disadvantages ascribed to this scheme. dam on the west side. The opponents of the work They may be mistaken in their views, but the result of have chosen to place themselves upon the horns of a a long acquaintance with the Schuylkill trade, and of dilemma on which we will leave them. Either the canal a laborious investigation of this subject, is, that the prowill be tight, in which case there will be no waste of posed scheme is one which, far from m litating with the water; or if it be leaky so as to endanger the supply of real interests of the city, will advance them; that it is a the City, the water in the canal cannot form the stag- work called for by the present exigencies of the coal nant pool which it has been represented to be. The trade; that if it be not executed now, other schemes flow through the canal can always be regulated by the les beneficial to the city will prosper at its expense; City Authorities, and unless there were a return- but that this work, sooner or later, must and will be ing tide from the lower to the upper part of the done. That it is essential to the prosperity of PhilaCanal, which is impossible, the impurities which delphia, as well as to that of the state at large. They would arise from the occupation of it by boats regret that the votes of Councils, both during the last could not be carried back to the wheels at Fairmount. and present session of the Legis'ature, indicate an opIt is, however, easy to foresee that if facilities are not position to this scheme; they respectfully suggest that given to the Coal Trade to establish itself on the the voice of the city should be heard as seldom as posSchuylkill below the dam, it will occupy the pool itself sible in the councils of the stafe in opposition to the above Fairmount, and contaminate the waters at that great interests of the commonwealth. This opposition spot. By means of the Penn Township rail road, coal should be reserved for cases alone which are of vital landed at this place can be shipped with little expense importance to the city. Such a case they believe does on the Delaware; and by other schemes now in agita- not now present itself. As the majority of the committion, it may from the same spot be taken by Rail Road tee have not deemed it expedient to report the inforto landings at the mouth of the Schuylkill, where it mation submitted to them, the undersigned have ann‹ xmight without any manual labour be screened and trans-ed what, after comparison with their own notes, they ferred from the Cars to the vessels engaged in the believe to be an accurate statement of the evidence, coasting trade. How far either of these outlets to the with two written communications. They report them Coal Trade may be opened before long, the undersign. in order that any member of Council desirous to do so, ed will not venture to decide; but they will express may have an opportunity to examine them for himself. their firm conviction that in either case the accumul(Signed) tion of filth in the pool above Fairmount would serious. WM. H. KEATING, ly affect the character of the water used by our citizens. MANUEL EYRE. The injurious tendency of the canal on the west side of the Schuylkill upon the health of the vicinity, has MINE HILL AND SCHUYLKILL HAVEN RAIL been urged with great zeal; but, in the opinion of the undersigned, with more speciousness than truth.— They are inclined to adopt the opinion of an experienc. ed physician of our city, that the canal would, if properly constructed, rather be salutary than otherwise, as it would act as a drain, and lead to the recovery of the marshes that lie on the west side of the Schuylkill. As soon as the canal is made, those marshes will be reclaimed, the river embanked, and what is now a source of miasmata, will be converted into an active scene of health and business. As attempts have been made to create an impression that the sewer from the Almshouse would discharge its contents into the canal, the under-provements, $3017 19. ROAD COMPANY. The President and Managers of the Mine Hill and There have been transported during the past year over the Company's road 41,529 tons of coal, and 1,087 tons of miscellaneous tonnage the toll on which amount to $9,326 24. The expenditures during the same period have been as follows: On account of repairs, $2312 58; salaries and incidentals, $1285 65; permanent im |