The New Orleans bulletin., 1876-02-10
CO1MERCIAL MATTERS. Etc.

Inc Georgia Legislature is incorporating
numerous gold mines. There has lately been
considerable investment oe foreign capital
IN this branch Of adventure in that State.
Brown county, Texas, seems to be settling
up very rapidly indeed 1t is estimated that
not less than one thousand families have set
tied in the county within the past five months.
Ihis county is said to comprise one of the
nnest bodies of land in the State, aud the
climate Is SO genial and healthful in all that
region that We do not wonder at its rapid
growth.
The State and local taxation assessments on
manufacturing corporations in Massachusetts
amounts to Sl,247, ,68S, Of which Sole, 900 is
local. Valuation of capital stock and real
estate in 1874, $235, ,O2l ,538; in 1875, s239.-
S48. LOIS; excess in 1875, "a, ,826, 876; loss il
Der Of corporations and charters, 1889. Dur
ing the year 20 corporations have been dis
solved and 80 organized.
The american Manufacturer suggests that
the fuel OF the future in the varied manipu
Iatlon OF the rolling mill will undoubtedly be
gas. The question awaiting solution ia the
form OF fornace which will be used. For the
present, at least, in oil works, and especially
where Dltuminous coal can be procured at a
low figure, the cost of Siemens's will stand in
the way OF introduction. In such works the
aim Will be to get some method by which the
Old furnaces can be used with little or no al.
teration."
The latest reports from the pork packing
districts show that very little business is
being done at present at interior points. The
chlef interest centers almost wholly in the
SIX Leading cities. From these, last weeks
returns disclose further decrease in the def
c,ency compared with last years business,
the aggregate falling off now standing 275.-
OOO, or As, 600 less than at the close of the
previous week. and IS, 900 less than the def
cheney at the close of the week ending Jan
uary 20.
1t is estimated that there are upwards Of
5000 men at various points along the Hudson
River, waiting for the river to close up and
the work Of ice-harvestipg to commence.
Thus far none of the "crop" has been stored.
During the winter Of 1874 2, 500 900 tons of
ice were taken from the Hudson and it was
all housed before the first week in February
At present there is little or no prospects that
even half this quantity can be secured this
year, and already much suffering is reported
as prevailing among the harvesters.
The Rebellion In Caba-Buraing the Sugar
Crop.
IN. Y. Bulletin, 9Th inst1
By Cuban journals brought by the sCity of
Vera Cruz" which left Havana on the 3Oth
ult., we are informed that the destruction of
sugar estates continued on q serious SCALE
Plantation Fajardo, of Senor Ruiz, near San
Felipe, had been burnt; and Flor de Cuba,
San Luis and Santa Eleua, in S4gua County,
had been also visited with the torch. The Diario
de Cienf0egos reports that the plantations AL
tamira, Desengano and the sugar and molas-
ses warehouses on the Caimanera and ali
along the bank of the Damuji River had been
effectually destroyed previous to the 25th
ul,imo; and when the last train left
Las Cruces for Cienfuegos, on the 9th,
. large area Of sugar cane fields, covering
thousands of acres, was ablaze, comprising at
least five or six different estates bordering
upon the railroad. A general alarm had been
sent out to the surrounding country. The
fort and town of Los Canas, at the entrance
to the Damuji Valley, enclosing numerous
and rich cluster Of sugar estates. had been at
tackled by the rebels soon after the raid on the
warehouses was accomplished, in which nearly
$lcO, 600 worth Of produce had been destroyed.
The Governor of Colon and Brig. Gen. Ar
minan arrived in Havana on the morning of
the 29th, and after conferriny with Gsn.
Jovellar they left in the afternoon with two
trains, carrying 1000 men lately arrived from
Spain, for the scene of danger in the Cinco
Villas District.
ShipbuiIdlng In the United States.
Statistics of shipbuilding in the United
States during the past year would Indicate an
apparently important falling off compared
with previous years. True, the number of
craft constructed is below the total Of any
year since 1862; but this diminution occurs
principally in class of vessels which do not
figure very prominently in the shipbuilding
industry proper, such as canal boats and bar
ges OF these, the total for 1876 was $40,
against 995 in 1874 and 1921 in 1878, and
about $50 as the average for the previous
seven years. The cause of the decrease is
obvious enough. Railroads have diverted no
inconsiderable amount Of business from the
canals thereby limiting the use of canal
boats and barges. Turning to the business
at large we find an important augmentation
in the number of ships and barks, while the
construction Of other large craft shows but a
slight decrease. The following shows the
L, tuo n Cos oil no 1853