New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-07-27
FROM PHILADELPHIA.


OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES FOR INVENTORS
From Our Own Correspondent
+. - PHILADELPHIA, July "a, 1850.
There IL not shadow Of humanitarianism in
politics. Under modern engineering they are
wholly selfish; here and there, to be sure, lofty
md serene exception in the person Of some hero OF
the forum or the press, whs, in the general agita-
ben, look to us like
70 "a spo; Of azure In q clondy sky
A sunny island in Stony msin"
Yet there be other humanitarian heroes than
even these and quite as useful in the pathway they
have chosen to walk. One Of them, at least Is
here. Some seven years ago he voluntarily UNDER
took the onercus task Of befriending every friend
lees man and woman who had been committed to
prison for doubtful or trifing ofenses. He gave
up his whole time and attention to this purely pll
anthropic purpose, with results 30 truly wonderiu
in promoting the comfort of helpless thousands, as
to attract the general attention. resulting III the
formation of fund 10 insure his permanent services
As prison agent This gentleman is constantly oscli,
atinp between the trading magistrates who toment
bros for the purpose of gaining fees the prison to
which offenders are committed the plalntlifs VINO
prosecuted and the powers who can cause the mno-
cent to be discharged without tla The good ne mas
thus Done the number OF vindctlve suits ne mas
had dismissed the unjustly accused ne has prompt
Nv liberated the broken hearts he has healed, the
scattered families he has reunited, constitute sum
of good TO poor, suffering human nature, Wnich
Howard himself did not exceed IN accomplishing
His sixth annual report Just out. shows that ,Oo3
persons were by his efforts released from prison. at
q eest Of only $50. Every one Of these people had
been either improperly or unjustly imprisoned;
most of them being innocent while the Others were
arrested from spite for ofenses too trfllng To be
entertained. The agent saw their prosecutors ana
his soft word turned away their wrath. coming
down 10 the mere money value the discharge OF
these people saved the city $685. Some OF these
commitments Of innocent persons were so h0r1oiy
unjust as TO occasion death. Many families have
been saved from shame, others from rum, by these
noble labOrs Convicts from the penitentlary have
been supplied with homes abroad, or with railroad
tickets TO take them to their distant friends, some
with clothing some with emplOyment--a to
prevent them suddenly relapsing into crime. Every
great city should have men with hearts big enough
To employ such missionary as William j. Mullen.
The hot wave from the south has reached us, IN
common with our neigbbOrs, and the mercury has
driven thousands out Of town. Blessings be on the
railroads and steamboats, that so abound TO AID IN
this annual depopulation The stampede takes
every direction, but probably the rival watering
places of Cape Nav and Atlantic City absorb the
The largest portion of the truants This latter place
was founded on the most desoate sand-heap that
can be imagined. 1t speculation, of course.
1t stands sixty miles from this city, the terminus
being at Camden, directly opposite, whence the
down to the sea-shore through a waste of scrub
oaks pines and cedar-swamps, not dwelling
house or farm being seen on ninetenths OF the whole
route when the track was first laid This vast re-
gon of country has been mere wilderness from the
foundation of New-Jersey. 1t had neither churches
nor schoo-hOuses, and only here and there a little
village, an iron furnace or gass-wOrks. Having
no roads. access was impossible to general travel.
Deer and bear, with lighter game, abOunded, and
its solitary places were known only hunters, char
coal burners and cranberry thieves. Over the
whole Of this 100000 Of acres the same wild char
acter prevails even now except where the railroad
has broken in upon its solitude, and, by promoting
free intercourse from abroad has been the means
of opening thorougfares, building up new towns,
and establishing, at its ocean terminus, watering
place to which probably 100 900 people will go this
season, and converting beach of sand, bought at
dollar an acre, into town lots at $50 foot. At
some points on the road the Yankees have located
on large tracts, where they are building mills,
churches, schoohOuses and fourishng towns, buy
ing the land at s. an acre IN tracts of 10 600, and
retailing il at $50. The Germans have here con-
gregated in city Of their own, now in four years
grown up TO a settlement of 300 substantial brick
houses. They have exterminated the scrub oaks,
fenced in their farms, and demonstrated that this
land which for fifty years no one would buy at 81
an acre, SO far from being mere waste of
sand, viii yield both wheat and corn, and
grass almost equal to an Illinois prairie. Yet,
up to the opening of the railroad, this land, though
living within ~ miles OF city IKE Pnlladelpnla,
Was burden on the hands of the owners Now it
sells readily at $40 to $50 an acre. 1t is true the
owners subscribed manfully to the road, both in
stock and bonds, and that the stock is wholly sunk,
and the bonds slow at 80 per cent; yet In the enor-
nous rise in the value of their land they have their
reward. The road is growing better every year.
A way traffic is springing up, while the passenger
travel 10 Atlantic City shows a marvellous annual
increase. Last week single train of % ears went
down with people, one day to dip in the ocean and
the next 10 return. What all this will grow to in
the next ten years no one can say. But III such
thermometrical figures as we have witnessed within
ten days such an outlet from this pentup Utica of
ours ranks among the great health-giyng achieve
ments Of the age.
Our census returns, as they come in by piece
meal from the country, show prOdlgous increase
. Of population. Pittsburgh and its suburbs have
grown very fast, some of the latter having quad
Tupled while some Wards in the city have in
creased 60 per cent Lancaster is up to 2O,OOO;
Easton, 10000; York, 10000; and Scranton, the
child of industry and labor, born only the other day
among the mountains of iron in which she was
Graded, has shot up 10 IL 000 Protection to iron
would have made it double. All the coal and min
ing regions have increased largely in numbers, not
withdrawing the hostile policy ofthe Government TO
crush out the interests of labor. There are so
many slow coaches employed in taking this census
that il will be long while before we know exactly
what progress the whole State has been making.
Your inventors should be looking into the list OF
premiums offered by the Philadelphia Agricultural |
Society. They are offered for every variety OF I'M
plement and machine for farming uses-22 TOR III
iage machines 10 for aids in gathering crops 80 for
contriyances for preparing products for market or
consumption with "a for articles OF transportation.
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