Book Description

Excerpt from The American Encyclopaedia of Commerce, Manufactures, Commercial Law, and Finance, Vol. 1 He has also derived valuable assistance from some distinguished official gentlemen, and from many eminent merchants; and has endeavored, whenever it. was practicable, to base his conclusions upon official documents. In very many instances, however, he has been obliged to adopt less authentic data; and he does not suppose that, amidst conflicting and contradictory statements, he has had sagacity enough to uniformly select those most worthy of being relied upon, or that the inferences he has drawn are always such as the real circumstances of the case would warrant. At all events, he has done his best not to be too much wanting in these respects. It must be well understood that this work is framed with the view, not of instructing the business man in relation to his own immediate and daily pursuits only, but also of placing within his reach information which it is always important, and often necessary, that he should possess, which many engaged in active business might find it exceedingly difficult to procure elsewhere, and which, being presented under an alphabetical arrangement, may be advantageously consulted even by those who have access to more expensive books. In regard to the matter of the work, as distinct from its form, the editor's aim has been to give the greatest possible amount of facts in the smallest number of words. The plan excludes, in general, long essays and treatises; for even those subjects which require considerable space for their proper treatment have, in most cases, been subdivided and discussed under separate heads in a manner which, it is hoped, will be found better adapted for reference than if they had been wholly contained under one title. Thus, while shipping is the subject of one general article, separate heads are devoted to affreightment, master, seamen, tonnage, demurrage, bill of lading, blockade, embargo, salvage, stranding, barratry, and other matters relating to that department. It has, in short, been the leading object throughout, to adapt the work to the wants of mercantile men, - a class to whom ease and rapidity of consultation, if united with accuracy, are matters of pre-eminent importance. Commodities are described under their English names; those which they bear in the other principal languages of Europe being also given when thought useful. The account embraces generally, not only a description of the commodity and its uses, but a notice of its growth or manufacture; of the marks by which its quality and genuineness are ascertained; and, in the case of the most important articles, the progress and present state of the trade, and a description of the machinery used in the latest processes of manufacture. The fiscal laws principally affecting each commodity will be found either under its name, or under other heads to which reference is given, according to circumstances. The rate of customs duties is given at the end of each article. The commercial statistics of the different countries of the world form another leading feature. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."