MARYLAND, one of the United States of North America, is bounded on the east by Delaware and a portion of the Atlantic Ocean, on the south-west and west by Virginia, on the south by the confluence of Chesapeake Bay with the Atlantic, and on the north by Pennsylvania. It extends from longitude 75. 10. to 79. 20. west, and from latitude 38. 3. to 39. 42. north. The area of Álaryland has generally been greatly overrated; an error which has arisen partly from the irregularity of its form, and partly from Chesapeake Bay having been included in the measurement; but having recently been carefully surveyed by a gentleman, it has been found to be within an inconsiderable fraction of 10,000 square miles. This state presents one very singular feature, being completely though irregularly divided in its whole length from north to south by Chesapeake Bay, perhaps the finest estuary in the world. These distinct portions are called, according to their situation, the eastern and western shores. These shores may be considered as recent alluvium; and the country is low and level, permeated by tide-rivers and creeks. Above tidewater the land becomes agreeably undulating, rising, though not very rapidly, into hills which reach the foot of the Alleghany and the Blue Mountains. These ranges cross the western part of the state, thus constituting a third or mountainous region. They are in no place less than 2486 feet above the level of the sea, and in many places they exceed 3000 feet. Each zone has portions of highly productive soil, but in general the intermediate valleys of the mountainous part are the most fertile. The counties of Frederick and Washington have limestone tracts, which exhibit a fertility not to be surpassed by any in the United States. The hilly zone is exceedingly variable, and within very narrow limits are found the extremes of fertility and barrenness. All the uneven country abounds with springs of excellent water. No part of the marine and river alluvial section is so productive as the calcareous parts of the western region, but there is more uniformity of soil than obtains in the middle zone. The country on the eastern side of the Chesapeake, with the exception of a small part of the northern extremity, is an extensive plain, low and sandy, much intersected by rivers and creeks, possessing few springs, and abounding in stagnant water. The western shore of the Chesapeake, below the falls, resembles the eastern; but it is far from being a dead plain, though none of the hills are of any considerable elevation. From the diversity of soil, as well as from the elevation of some parts, the vegetable productions have been much varied, and the staples greatly multiplied.

Potomac, the largest river of the state, rises in the mountain chain which traverses its western part, and in its whole length, which is between three and four hundred miles, constitutes the boundary between Maryland and Virginia. At Washington it is above a mile in breadth, and at about ninety miles below that city it falls into Chesapeake Bay. The Susquehannah likewise falls into the same estuary, but only a small portion of the northern extremity of Maryland is traversed by that noble stream. Two considerable rivers, the Choptank and the Nanticoe, rise in Delaware, and taking their course through the eastern part of Maryland, fall into Chesapeake Bay. The western shore is traversed by a great number of streams of various extent, but none of them are of any great magnitude. With regard to climate, the higher parts of the state are esteemed salubrious; as is also the middle zone; but the low-lying parts on either side of Chesapeake Bay are unhealthy. The air in summer is moist, sultry, and disagreeable; and the inhabitants are subject to agues and intermittent fevers, whilst many of them have a wan and sickly aspect. The maritime belt of Maryland may be said to belong rather to the southern than to the northern states.

The soil is generally a red clay or loam, and much of it is of excellent quality. The staple products of the state are wheat and tobacco; but maize, sweet potatoes, hemp, flax, and some cotton for domestic use, are likewise raised. The genuine white wheat, said to be peculiar to Maryland, is grown in some of the counties on the eastern shore. The soil and climate are admirably adapted for the cultivation of all the fruits of the temperate zone; and here accordingly are fine orchards, in which apples, pears, peaches, plums, and cherries, are abundant. Of peaches, the inhabitants make large quantities of peach brandy; and of apples, apple brandy and cider. The forests abound in hickory trees, and also in that production called mast, a nutbearing tree, on which great numbers of swine are fed. These animals are allowed to run wild, and when fattened are killed, barrelled, and exported in great quantities. Sheep and oxen are also plentiful. In the swamps the cypress is common, and the catalpa is indigenous to the soil.

Ί here are a number of long turnpikes in this state, particularly one which connects Baltimore with Cumberland on the Potomac, a distance of 135 miles. This constitutes the great thoroughfare to the western country. From Cumberland to Brownsville on the Monongahela, in Pennsylvania, there has been completed by the United States a free road of a most excellent construction. The distance [7:14:272] is seventy-two miles, making the whole distance from Baltimore to Brownsville 207 miles. Amongst other turnpike roads may be mentioned that which has been made from Baltimore by York· and Pennsylvania to the Snsquehannah, by which large quantities of the produce of Pennsylvania are brought to that city. There are other roads, either in a state of forwardness, or which have recently been completed. The most stupendous work ever undertaken by any government, or by individuals, is the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. The length of this magnificent road, when completed, will be three hundred and thirty miles, and the ground is, besides, both high and difficult. When the project was made known, a company was immediately formed, and capital to a large amount subscribed. The work commenced in 1828, but was for a long time retarded in consequence of a litigation with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, as to prior right of location in certain parts of the route. The dispute being settled, operations were resumed, and in December 1834 eighty-two miles of the road were completed, at an expense of three milliqns of dollars. The same company have opened a railroad to the city of Washington, commencing eight miles from Baltimore; the length of this work is thirty-two miles. Other railroads have also been undertaken, amongst which may be mentioned one from York-Haven to the Susquehannah, a distance of sixty miles. There are several canals in this state: one from Port Deposit on the east bank of the Sus-quehannalι, proceeds along a line of rapids northward to the boundary line of Maryland and Pennsylvania, a distance of ten miles. At Little or Lower Falls, on the Potomac, three miles above Washington, is a canal two miles and a half long; and at Great Falls, nine miles above, is another, scarcely, however, a mile in length; but there is one in progress, which, if completed, will rival the great railroad before mentioned. This is the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which commences'at the Potomac in the federal city, and proceeds along the river near the limits of Maryland and Virginia. It is laid out to pass through the highlands, and over the Alleghanies, not far from the route of the great national road, to meet the Ohio at or near Pittsburgh. The length of the two great works will be nearly the same. To this undertaking the state of Maryland subscribed five hundred thousand dollars. On the 1st of January 1834, about one hundred and nine miles of this canal were completed, at an expense of 3,707,262 dollars.

In 1696, the province appropriated funds for the support of a college and free schools, the former of which had made considerable progress previously to 1776. In 1782, Washington College was established at Chesterton. About two years afterwards, St John’s College was established at Annapolis, and these two uniting together, constituted one university. A fund which had been appropriated for Washington College was withdrawn in 1804; but the state, as an equivalent, allowed the university twelve thousand dollars per annum. In 1813, a tax was laid on bank stock of twenty cents on every hundred dollars, which yields about 10,000 dollars annually. The whole of this is appropriated to the support of free and charity schools, and it is equally divided amongst all the counties in the state. There is likewise a school fund, consisting of a sum advanced by Maryland during the late war, and paid by the national government, amounting to 75,000 dollars. A law in favour of primary schools was passed in 1825, and has been partially carried into effect in two or three of the counties. In 1833, the legislature of Maryland passed an act by which St John’s College at Annapolis has 3000 dollars secured to it for ever, the money to be paid from the state treasury. In 1834, a geologist was appointed for the state, with a salary of two thousand dollars per annum; and he is instructed to make deposits of his collections in the college cabinet. There are several academies which receive eight hundred dollars yearly from the state treasury. In 1807 the legislature founded in Baltimore a college for the instruction of students in medicine; and a few years afterwards instruction was also given in divinity, law, the arts and sciences; the whole institution being incorporated under the title of the University of Maryland. It is governed by twenty-eight agents and a provost; and efficient professors, with assistants, are appointed to preside over each department of education. The philosophical apparatus is extensive; and the museum contains a very valuable collection of anatomical preparations. The mineralogical collection is also very extensive. The state, a few years ago, granted 30,000 dollars to this rapidly growing institution. Baltimore College, a chartered and respectable seminary, and St Mary’s College, which belongs to the Roman Catholics, are both in a very flourishing state. In addition to the above, there are extensive academies in various places; indeed the arrangements made for the promotion of knowledge reflect the highest credit on the legislature and inhabitants of Maryland. The religious bodies, as is usual throughout all the American states, are numerous. The Roman Catholics have one archbishop, the metropolitan of the United States, and between thirty and forty churches; the Methodists are a numerous sect, the Episcopalians have seventy-five ministers, the Presbyterians eleven, the Baptists twelve, the German Reformed nine, the Unitarians and the New Jerusalem Church one each; there are also some Mennonites, and the Friends are numerous.
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Different Classes of Population in 1830.
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Baltimore, the commercial capital of Maryland, is the third city in the Union in point of population and extent. It is situated on the north shore of the Patapsco, fourteen miles above its entrance into Chesapeake Bay, one hundred and ninety miles south-west of New York, one hundred miles south-west of Philadelphia, and thirty-seven miles north-east of Washington, in latitude 39. 17. north, and longitude 76. 36. west. This city has increased in population, and advanced in commercial importance, with almost unexampled rapidity. It i s admirably situated for trade, and it possesses most of that of Maryland, about a half of that of Pennsylvania, and a portion of that of the western states. It is the best market for tobacco in the Union, and the greatest flour market in the world. The harbour is spacious, secure, and commodious, and is defended by a fort. The principal part of the city is divided from the portions styled Old Town and Fell’s Point, by a small river called Jones’ Falls, over which are erected three elegant stone bridges and four wooden ones. The area of the town is a square of four miles, and it is divided into twelve wards. It contains twenty-five public buildings, and forty places of public worship. The Roman Catholic cathedral is a spacious and magnificent building, the largest, it is believed, in the United States. Several of the other churches are also large and beautifully finished. The Exchange is a vast building, and the Athenaeum is a spacious and beautiful structure. Several of the other public buildings are of great size and elegant appearance. Amongst the most conspicuous objects belonging to Baltimore are its monuments. The Washington Monument is a marble column 175 feet in height. The pedestal is fifty feet square and twenty feet in height, and the column fourteen feet in diameter at the summit and twenty at the foot. There is also Battle Monument, raised in memory of those who fell in defence of the city in the attack made upon it by the British in 1814; and a shot tower 234 feet in height. The city, generally, is well built, mostly of brick. Many of the houses, particularly those recently erected, display much elegance and taste. The streets are well paved, and many of them are spacious. Baltimore issues seven or eight gazettes, and has above one hundred manufactories of various kinds, its vicinity affording ample command of water-power for driving mills.

In 1830, there were inspected 577,804 barrels of wheat flour, 4436 barrels of rye flour, 558 hogsheads, and 5458 barrels of corn meal. Vessels of 500 or 600 tons burden can lie in perfect safety at the wharfs on the point, but those of only 200 tons can come πp to the town.

Annapolis, the political metropolis of Maryland, is situated on the western side of the estuary of the Severn, twenty·eight miles south-east of Baltimore, and forty north-east of Washington, in longitude 76.43. west, latitude 39.0. north. It is a pleasant and healthy town, and contains a spacious and elegant town-house, a market, two houses of public worship, and a theatre. Fredericktown, on a branch of the Monococy, is a large and pleasant interior town, forty-five miles west of Baltimore, and forty-three north-west of Washington. It is pleasantly situated, regularly laid out, and well built, and contains a court-house, a jail, a bank, a market-house, an academy, and seven places of public worship for various denominations of Christians. Several of the public buildings, and many of the private houses, are spacious and elegant. This town is situated in the centre of a very pleasant and fertile country, and sends great quantities of wheat and flour to Baltimore; also leather, shoes, saddles, hats, and gloves. Several newspapers are published here. Hagerstown is a very neat place, regularly laid out, on Antietam Creek, sixty-nine miles north-west of Washington, and seventy-one west by north of Baltimore. It contains four public buildings, and four churches, of which two are handsome structures. Being situated in a fertile and well-cultivated tract of country, and one of the best districts in the United States for raising wheat, it has a considerable trade, and is altogether a very flourishing place. Cumberland is a considerable village on the northern bank of the Potomac, at the commencement of the great national road. It contains four public buildings and four churches. Great abundance of stone coal is found in the vicinity. Hancock, on the most northern bend of the Potomac, near the Pennsylvania line, is also, as well as the three last-mentioned towns, on the national road, and is an important village. The names of the other considerable villages in this state are, Elkton, Frenchtown, Charlestown, Chestertown, Easton, Middleton, Salisbury, Princess Anne, and Snowhill. These are on the eastern shore. On the western shore are, Havre-de-Grace, Belle-Air, Harford, Bladensburgh, Port Tobacco, and Leonardtown.

The district of Columbia is a tract of country ten miles square, nearly equally divided by the Potomac, and ceded by the states of Maryland and Virginia to the general government. Its surface is uneven without being mountainous, and the soil is very light and sandy. It comprehends two counties, Alexandria and Washington, the latter containing the city of Washington, the seat of the general government. Although of little moment in a commercial [7:14:274]point of view, yet its political importance entitles it to a pretty full description.

Washington, the metropolis of the United States, is situated on the Maryland side of the Potomac, in latitude 38. 32. 54. north, and longitude 77. 1. 48. west from Greenwich. It is 436 miles south-west of Boston, 226 from New York, 136 from Philadelphia, and 37 from Baltimore. Rock Creek divides it from Georgetown, with which it is connected by four bridges; and the Potomac separates it from Alexandria, with which it is connected by a bridge of more than a mile in length. There are also several bridges over the Anacostia. This river has a sufficient depth of water for frigates to ascend above the navy-yard, which is situated upon it. Vessels drawing fourteen feet of water can come up to Potomac Bridge, from which to the mouth of the Tiber there are nine feet of water at ordinary flood tide. A spacious canal unites the Anacostia with the Potomac. The space on which the city is built is high, airy, commanding, and salubrious, and, as but a small part of it is as yet occupied by buildings, it has the aspect of a succession of opulent villages in the midst of the country. Streets running north and south are crossed by others running east and west, whilst those which bear the name of avenues traverse these rectangular divisions diagonally, and are so laid out as to afford the most direct communication between those places deemed the most important, or which offer the most agreeable prospects. Where the avenues form acute angles by their intersections with the streets, there are reservations which are to remain open. The avenues are named after the states of the Union, and the streets are designated numerically or alphabetically, beginning at the Capitol. This magnificent edifice is situated in Capitol Square, a lofty eminence at the head of Pennsylvania Avenue. It is of the Corinthian order, being constructed of freestone, and composed of a centre and two wings. The length of the whole is 350 feet, the depth of the wings 121 feet, and the height to the top of the dome 120 feet. A Corinthian porticoextends along the centre, which is occupied by the rotunda, about ninety-six feet in diameter, and the same number of feet in height. It is ornamented with paintings and relievos, designed to commemorate some of the prominent events in the early history of the country. This magnificent apartment is of white marble, and lighted from the dome, which is lofty and imposing. The chamber of the House of Representatives is one of the richest and most splendid apartments of the kind that has ever been constructed. It occupies the south wing, and is of a semicircular form, ninety-five feet in length, and sixty in height. The dome is supported by twenty-six columns and pilasters of breccia or Potomac marble. A colossal statue of Liberty, and another of History, are the principal embellishments of this hall. The senate-chamber, in the northern wing, is also a semicircle of seventy-four feet in length by forty-two in height. Adjoining the rotunda on the west is the Library of Congress. The hall, ninety-two feet in length, thirty-four in width, and thirty-six in height, contains 16,000 volumes. Immediately beneath the senate-chamber, and nearly of the same form and dimensions, is the room in which the sessions of the supreme court are held. The president’s house is an elegant mansion, 180 feet in length by eighty-five feet in width, and two stories high. Four brick buildings of the same height, with free-stone basements and Ionic portico, contain the offices of the principal executive departments. The General Post-office is a large brick edifice, situated nearly a mile north-west of the Capitol, in which are the chambers of the post-office establishment, the general land-office, and the patent-office. The navy-yard is situated on the eastern branch of the Potomac, and is provided with all the appurtenances necessary for building ships of the largest size. To the north of it are the marine barracks, an arsenal, public manufactories of arms, military stores, and the like. The city-hall is ai large edifice, and amongst the other public buildings, which are numerous, may be enumerated four market-houses, twenty churches, an orphan asylum, an alms-house, and the Columbian College, which is situated on elevated ground to the north of the city. It is a lofty building, and has four instructors, and about fifty students. There are also two Roman Catholic institutions under the care of the Sisters of Charity. In August 1814, Washington was taken by the British under General Ross, who set fire to the Capitol, the president’s house, and other public offices. The Library of Congress was burned at this time, and that of Mr Jefferson was subsequently purchased to replace it.

Georgetown is situated on the north-eastern bank of the Potomac, three miles west of the Capitol in Washington, in longitude 75. 5. west, and latitude 38. 55. north. It is separated from Washington by a small river called Rock Creek, over which are two bridges. Considerable trade is carried on here; but in consequence of the difficulties of navigation, occasioned by a bar three miles below the town, a great part of the produce is conveyed to Alexandria, and exported from that place. Georgetown contains a market-house, a college, a Lancasterian school, a public library, four banks, and several places of public worship. Georgetown College is a Roman Catholic institution, under the direction of the Catholic clergy of Maryland. It has two spacious edifices, containing a library of 7000 volumes, and has an average number of 150 students.

Alexandria, an incorporated city on the western bank of the river, is a place of extensive business, and of fashionable resort during the sittings of congress. The streets are regular, and intersect each other at right angles. This city contains a number of public buildings, and eight places of worship. Amongst the valuable articles deposited in the Museum, is the robe in which Washington was baptized, and several other relics of the great patriot of the west. In the district of Columbia the Baptists have eighteen churches, the Presbyterians nine churches, the Methodists 1400 members, the Episcopalians five ministers, the Catholics several churches, and the Unitarians one minister.
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In 1831 there were in Maryland twenty-three cotton mills, and 1002 looms. There were sold during the same year 1,104,000 lbs. of yarn, 7,649,000 yards of cloth, and 2,224,000 lbs. of cloth. The capital invested in this manufacture was 2,144,000 dollars. There are two manufactories of cylinder window-glass, and several paper-mills and distilleries, in this state. The following is a statement of the number of vessels belonging to Maryland, on 1st January 1831: Registered vessels,—ships thirty-nine, brigs forty-six, and schooners twenty-seven; enrolled and licensed vessels,—brigs two, schooners 726, sloops sixty-six, and steamboats fifteen; licensed vessels under twenty tons,—schooners eighty-nine, and sloops twenty-four. Total number of vessels 1034, manned by 4139 seamen. The following is a statement of the commerce ofMaryland for the year ending the 30th of September 1833. Value of imports in American vessels 4,904,009, in foreign vessels 533,048; total 5,437,057 dollars. Value of exports of domestic produce, in American vessels 2,377,949, inforeign vessels 923,065; total 3,301,014 dollars. Value of exports of foreign produce, in American vessels 589,891, and in foreign vessels 171,562; total 761,453 dollars. Total value of domestic and foreign produce 4,062,467 dollars. Of American tonnage for the same year, there entered 58,507, and departed 47,181; of foreign tonnage there entered 24,136, and departed[7:14:275] 25,499; making the total amount of American and foreign tonnage which entered the ports of the state 83,643, and which departed 72,682. Flour is the most considerable article of export, and next to it is tobacco. The other exports are, iron, lumber, Indian corn, pork, flax-seed, beans, and the like. For the manufacture of pig and bar iron, hollow-ware, cannon, stoves, and the like, furnaces have been-erected in various parts of the state. At the commencement of 1834, there were in Maryland twenty banks. By returns and estimates, the capital was 9,270,091; the notes issued were 2,441, 698; specie and specie funds 1,040,506; deposits 5,450,035; discount of notes, &c. 14,910,786 dollars. The amount of postage received for the year ending the 31st of March 1832 was 76,766 dollars. In 1834 there were published in Maryland thirty-five newspapers and other journals, amongst which were several monthly and quarterly periodicals.

In 1632, Maryland was granted by Charles I. of England to Sir George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic, and an eminent statesman; but before the patent was completed, Lord Baltimore died, and the patent, dated 20th June 1632, was given to his eldest son Cecilius, who succeeded to his titles, and who for upwards of forty years directed, as proprietor, the affairs of the colony. Leonard Calvert, his brother, was appointed the first governor; and he, together with about two hundred persons, commenced the settlement of the town of St Mary’s in 1634. A free toleration in religious matters was allowed the settlers, and a system of equity and humanity was practised with regard to the Indian tribes. After the colony of Maryland had established its general assembly, even to the time of the revolution, the right of appointing the governor, and of approving or disapproving the acts of the assembly, was retained by the Baltimore family. The constitution of this state was formed in 1776, but it subsequently underwent many alterations. The following is an outline of it as it now exists. The legislative power is vested in a senate consisting of fifteen members, and a house of delegates consisting of eighty members. These two branches united are styled the General Assembly of Maryland. The members of the house of delegates, four from each county, and two from each of the cities of Annapolis and Baltimore, are elected annually by the people; whilst the members of the senate are elected every fifth year, at Annapolis, by electors who are chosen by the people. These electors choose by ballot nine senators from the western and six from the eastern shore. The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected annually by a joint ballot of both houses of the general assembly. No one can hold the office of governor more than three years successively, nor be eligible as governor until the expiration of four years after he has been out of that office. The governor is assisted by a council “f five members, who are chosen annually in the same manner as the governor. The general assembly meets annually at Annapolis, on the last Monday in December. The council of the governor is elected on the first Tuesday in January; the governor nominates to office, and the council appoints. The constitution grants the right of suffrage to every free white male citizen above twenty-one years of age, who has resided twelve months within the state, and six months in the county, or in the city of Annapolis or Baltimore, next preceding the election at which he appears to vote. 1he chancellor and judges are nominated by the governor and appointed by the council, and they hold their offices during good behaviour. In appointing officers under the state, the governor has the right of nomination, and the council the right of appointment. The governor does not possess the power of a veto on the acts of the general assembly. r. r. r.