The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-14 00:00:00

LIABILITIES.

Capital . . f. 67,900,000 0
Ditto of the Branch Banks ... 23,350,000 0
Reserve fund ... 10,000,000 0
Ditto of the branch banks ... 2,980,730 14
RA-aerve-immobiliere 4,000,000 0
Notes to bearer, in circulation ... 414,079,900 0
Ditto of the branch banks ... 90,311,350 0
Ditth to order (post-bills) ... 6,211.936 48
A.,:eount-current with Treasury creditor 85,089,475 21
Various accounts current 80,228,628 53
Ditto in branches 20.599,332 0
DU& payable at sight ... 3,873,000 0
Ditto at branches ••• ••• ••• 2 524 • ,
586 0
Dividends payable ••• . . 2,485,424 25
Liquidation of the Algiers Bank ... 8,215 0
Discounts, interest, and expenses ... 168,362 29
Ditto of branch banks ... ... 279,492 0
Expenses anticipated 147,958 48
lie-discounts of the last six mouths ... 169,730 65
Ditto in branch banks 287,673 0
Miscellaneous 592,418 3

f. 815,288,262 6
Certifie,l by the Governor of the Bank of France.

D'ARGOUT.
It appears by the preceding account that the cash in
hand Lai increased by 5,000,0007. The commercial bilk
discounted hive decreased by 1,250,000 f. The Bank
notes in circulation have decreased by 3,000,000 c.
The balance to the credit of the Treasury nas increased
by moo,ooof. Sundry credits have decreased by
3,000,000 f.

THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE.
(From the Quebec Gazette.)
There is a contest now going on between the
rival seaports of New York and Boston, in which the
citizens of Quebec, and indeed the whole population
of the St. Lawrence banks, are deeply interested.
The state of New York possesses four channels, through
which is poured, into her great port, the produce of the
lake region, and through which she supplies them with
manufactured goods. The Erie railroad from New
York is the first, running directly through from Dun-
kirk, on Lake Erie, to this city. It is not yet quite
completed, but already does an immense business, and
bids fair to afford a large return far the capital in-
vested. The second is the Erie canal, with its recent
enlargement, which has almo%t doubled its capacity.
Almost parallel to it is the alined between Buffalo
and Albany. Bath of these routes have large tribu-
taries ir. the Oswego canal and railroad, which join
them at Syracuse. The traffic on these feeders
is enormous, chiefly of Canada produce. Lastly,
there is the lake Champlain and Champlain
canal route to Albany, which bids high, or rather
low, for western trade. Boston has the advantage of
three of these routes, all terminating as they do at
Albany, from which there is railroad communication
to the former city. But the Bostonians were not satis-
fied with that ; they wished to have lines of their own,
and they have built two roads one to Ogdens-
burgh, on the St. Lawrence, aad another, com-
monly called the Rutland •road. The former
appears to have secured, immediately, a very large
share of the western trade. It is crowded with bu-
siness, and cargoes of produce are lying at its wharves
work
till there is time to carry it away. New
in its turn, has become alarmed, and contem-
l'ate3 a new railroad, namely, from Sackett's Harbour
to Saratoga, where it would join the line to Albany.
While the Americans are thus active in their
efforts, it becomes us, who hare so deep an interest in
the trade, to see what we have been doing in the
racf,. The great difficulty in our competition with the
Arnericans for the transportation trade, has been,
during the last three years, the high rate of ocean freight
from this port. The canals were finished in 1847,
and the inland transportation has since then been
far less than that on the American routes, but the
conveyance across the Atlantic, or to the lower pro-
vinces, was so much higher than from New York,
th.t, in spite'of our inland superiority, our St. Law-
rence trade appeared rather to diminish than increase.
To remedy this, mainly for the benefit of Canada,
Great Britain removed her navigation-laws, and it is
with great pleasure we observe that the abolition has
been attended by the most marked benefit to our
trade.

TIP, competition of foreign vessels has caused a
reduction in the rates during the season just closed,
of freight on timber from this port, of between 16
and. 17 per cent., from those of the previous year.
Of the 1,078 vessels which arrived here from sea
during the season,, 96 were foreign, of which 4.5 were
Norwegian, ')4 American, 19 Prussian, 8 Russian,
n,
,Purtugpfse, 1-14inoverian, and I Dutch. The ton-
'"ge of all the arrival.; was 436,579 ; and of this the
toreirlers amounted to 37,970. Although the nurn-
t'
:' of foreign vessels is not large, it is quite suffi-
crf•nt to affect the rates crf freight, and it is to be
r membered that this is only the first par of free-
tride in ships, and.
Following table of was only an' experiment. The
the rates of freight for the two
seasons, on timber per bead, to Liverpool shows the
reduction :

1849.

June £ 1 12 0
July 1 12 0
August
September
Occober
November
A►erage rate 1 11 3

1850.
June X I 6 6
July
August
September
October
November
Average rate 1 6 2

Showing a reduction of ss. id. per load. Now
there has been shipped during the past season
23,049,020 feet of timber, or 464,980 loads, so that
the amount saved on timber freights to our people by
the abolition of the navigation-laws during one season
is 118,1821. Bs. 4d. But this is only one article. We
are sorry that we cannot give as well the produce
shipped to Europe and the lower provinces, which
have been affected, though perhaps in a less
degree, by the abolition of the laws. The actual gain
to the Canadian flour and timber merchant, and
through him to the farmer, by this reduction of
freight, is very great ; but if the cheapening give
the St. Lawrence the position which it was
intended by nature to occupy, the outlet from and
inlet to the west, then the gain will be great indeed,
far beyond what we can calculate. Free trade
in corn took away a part of our St. Lawrence trade ;
free-trade in ships will bring it back to us again. The
ship-owner in England may suffer in the meantime ;
but he will be forced by the competition of the
foreigner to learn to sail his ships as cheaply as them.
The few who reside in this country have the same
power in their hands, but the immense increase in
business which the reduction of freights would create
would amply compensate them for their present dis-
advantage.
The shipowners' interest should, however, be con-
sulted in every way that lies in our power ; all that
can be effected by our Government should be done
for their benefit. One thing we certainly can do—
we can lessen the dangers of the navigation, and,
consequently, the expense of insurance, by erecting
lighthouses on the river and gulf. In truth, this is
the next point of public improvement which ought
to engage the attention of the Government. Mil-
lions have been expended on the inland navigation ;
one or two slight improvements on the Upper St.
Lawrence are all that is required to make the commu-
nication above perfect, but the lower river has been
comparatively uncared for. We have been content
to lay down our produce in safety at the port, but
have left it exposed to many dangers after it leaves
it. We certainly had as much to do as we could
possibly accomplish in past years, but that is all now
finished ; our treasury overflows, and we must com-
plete the chain of navigation between Lake Huron
and the won, or else what we have already done will
be comparatively useless. The members from Lower
Canada last year consented to the grant of a great
sum towards the completion of the Welland Canal,
and we trust that at the coming session we shall see a
large amount set apart, so that our seamen may leave
our roadstead in confidence and security, leaving no
anxious hearts behind them, so that our shipowners
may drive a safe and profitable trade.
Another point in which our shipowners are deeply
interested remains to be noticed ; we refer to the re-
fusal to permit American vessels to descend the river
to Quebec, while they are allowed to come to Mon-
treal, a seaport town, and to go up the Ottawa as far
as Bytown. This is a restriction utterly useless for
any good purpose, and very unjust to the business
men of Quebec. We are informed, on very good
authority, that a great deal more railroad iron and
other articles would have been brought by the St.
Lawrence, if American vessels from the Lake Erie
ports would have been permitted to convey it from
here ; thus causing a loss of business to the ship-
owner. It besides compelled the forwarder of what
has been conveyed to pay higher to the owners of in-
land vessels, which are owned, for the most part, in
Upper Canada or Montreal. The Upper Country
people must be reminded that, if we do not grumble
at their sending their produce to Europe in foreign
ships, or getting back their goods by them, they must
in like manner permit us to send to the west in what
vessels we please, American or otherwise. We are
aware of the argument used, that if we refuse to al-
low this, we will force the Americans into reciprocity.
Now, we do not believe that we can force the Ame-
ricans into anything ; they are too much like their
relation, John Bull, apt to resist force, and only give
in to reason or persuasion. And then again it is too
small a matter to place in comparision with recipro-
city. If we obtain that advantage it will be because
it will benefit the Americans far more, and in a dif-
ferent way, than the use of the navigation between
Montreal and Quebec. But in addition to all this,
we have the warm support already of those Ameri-
cans who desire the free navigation ; the shipowners
of the west are all anxious for reciprocity for the
general benefit of their trade; so that we gain no-
thing by withholding this particular favour from
them. We hope that the American Congress, just
assembled, will grant the boon which we have so long
desired, although we do not consider it of so very
great importance to our prosperity as some do.
It is, indeed, necessary that we should bestir our-
selves for the improvement of our St. Lawrence
route, or the Americans will take away even the
business that at present remains. In 1845 there was
not a bushel of wheat nor a barrel of flour imported
into Oswego from Canada, and very little of any
kind of agricultural productions. In 1849, among
the Canadian imports at that place were 200,000
barrels of flour, 618,240 bushels of wheat, and con-
siderable quantities of oats, peas, butter, ashes, seeds,
&c. The lumber trade has also increased wonder-
fully within the last ten years. The imports of Ca-
nadian sawed lumber, principally pine, into Oswego
were, in the three years indicated, as follows
1840
1845
1849 ' 44,157,287 .

, .
Exports to Oswego of lumber will reach sixty
millions feet during the present season.

THE MORMONS.
(From the New York Inquirer.)
No doubt you are aware that in the gecgraphical
formation of what is called the Itocky Mountains,
there is that anomalous feature known as the Great
Basin, the existence of which, until quite recently,
was advanced as a theory, but is now established as a
fact. It is a singular feature—a basin of some
500 miles diameter every way, between 4,000
and 5,000 feet above the level of the sea,
shut in all around by mountains, with its own
system of lakes and rivers and having no connexion
whatever with the sea, except, perhaps, that the
Mormons have recently discovered whirlpools in the
Salt Lake, which may possibly lead to the discovery of
some outlet. The basin is partly arid. Its general
character is that of desert and mountains, except the
eastern portions of it, parts of which afford fine loca-
tions for civilized man. The sect denominated Mor-
mons have here located themselves, and brought under
cultivation an extent of arable land for 150 miles.

It will be three years, the coming 24th inst., that
the Mormons arrived in Salt Lake Valley, and their
progress in laying out a city, buildings, fencing
farms, raising crops, &c., is truly wonderful to be-
hold ; and is but another striking demonstration of the
indefatigable enterprise, industry, and perseverance of
the Anglo-Saxon race.
The city is laid out in about twenty different
wards, and covers an area of three square miles. It
already contains about one thousand houses, nearly
one storey and a half high, built of adobe, or sun-
burnt brick. A fine stream of cold water rushes
down from the mountains, which is distributed in
ditches through every street in the city, through
the gardens, and to the doors of the dwellings,
where it is used for culinary and other purposes.
The ground whereon the city is built is sloping,
which affords a great fall for the water, the
current through the ditches running at the rate of
about four knots an hour, and keeps up a continual
supply of fresh water from the mountains. The valley
where the city stands is quite handsome, running east
and west. The city is situate about three miles from
the Timpanagos Mountains on the east, within five
of the Utah outlet on the south-east, and within
twenty miles from the range of mountains on the
south, and within twenty-two miles of the great
Salt Lake. Its population is about 5,000, that
of the valley 10,000, exclusive of the city. The
Mormons are now building a neat stone state house,
two storeys high, and its dimensions are 40 by 90
feet. Most of the city is fenced, every half square
mile being under one enclosure, almost every foot
of the ground (except where the house stands)
being occupied in grain and vegetables. There are
several stores kept here. Mechanics of different
trades are busily engaged. The Mormons, take
them as a body, I truly believe, are a most industri-
ous people ; and, I confess, as intelligent as any I
have met with, either in the east or the west. It is
true they area little fanatical about their religious
views, which is not at all strange, when compared
with the majority of religious denominations in the
east. But let no man be deceived in his estimation of
the people who have settled here. Any people who
have the courage to travel over plains, rivers, and
mountains for 1,200 miles—such, probably, as cannot
he travelled over in any other part of the world—to
settle in a region which scarcely ever received the
tread of any but the wild savage and beasts who roam
the wilderness, must he possessed of indomitable energy
which is but rarely met with.
Brigham Young, the President of the Mormon
Church here (and to whom I had a letter of intro-
duction), is it man about forty years of age, of light
complexion, ordinary height, but rather corpulent.
He exercises a vast influence' among the Mormons—
probably more than any other man—and I think
-
stands nearly in the same position as their saint,
Joseph Smith. He is a man
of considerable
intelligence, and I think has seen a good
deal of the world. The greatest fault I can
find with his preaching is that he is almost too
egotistical. Instead of taking a text from the good
book and if possible showing that the Book of Mor-
mon is the true road, he confines himself altogether to
giving accounts of their persecuted church in bygone
days, and in "showing up" its present enemies. I
have heard him preach twice, and have had several
private conversations with him. In private, he is
very sociable and talkative, joking and laughing as
heartily as anybody.
An impression exists abroad respecting the num-

ber of wives which each Mormon is allowed, and
which it may not be amiss to make a few remarks
upon. I have made inquiry of those who know, and
find that each member, as well as each head of the
Church, is privileged to have as many wives as he can
decently support—that is, if all parties concerned are
agreed—and to each he has to be formally married in
accordance with the law "in such case made and pro-
vided." I have not a word to say in defence of this
odious and demoralising feature—but merely state
the facts.