G52 



PERIT, PELATIAH. 



PEUTL 



may be paid to extinguish a ground-rent within the 

 category of the act ? Is it a debt ? The owner of the 

 land is not bound to pay it. The owner of the rent 

 cannot compel him to pay it, There is no obligation 

 as between the parties. It cannot be converted into 

 an obligation by the election of one of the parties 

 without the consent of the other. A man may ex- 

 ecute his bond to me voluntarily, but unless I accept 

 it he does not become my debtor. 



These ground-rents, in the nature of a rent service, 

 are somewhat peculiar to Pennsylvania, and little 

 known in other States. But the Supreme Court of 

 the State has clearly settled and determined their 

 nature. The cases are too well known to the legal 

 profession to need a quotation. "A rent service 

 (say the Court in Bosler vs. Kuhn 8 Watts & Ser- 

 geant, 186) is not a debt, and a covenant to pay it is 

 not a covenant to pay a debt. The annual payments 

 spring into existence, and for the first time become 

 debts when they are demandable." 



I am of opinion, therefore, that the tender offered 

 by the bill in this case is not authorized by the stat- 

 ute, and that the respondents cannot be compelled 

 to extinguish their estate in the land by such a ten- 

 der as that now made. The bill must, therefore, be 

 dismissed. 



PERIT, PELATIAH, an American merchant, 

 born in Norwich, Conn., June 23, 1785, died at 

 New Haven, Conn., March 8, 1864. He was 

 descended from a Huguenot family which sought 

 a refuge in this country at an early period in 

 the colonial history. His maternal grandfather 

 was the well-known Pelatiah Webster, of Phil- 

 adelphia, author of various financial essays which 

 were published at the time of the formation of 

 our National Government, and in his family the 

 subject of our notice found an early home upon 

 the death of his father. His preparation for 

 college was made in Philadelphia and New 

 Haven, and he graduated from Yale College in 

 the class of 1802, spending the following year 

 in teaching a private school in his native town, 

 while considering the question of devoting him- 

 self to the ministry. 



A weakness of his voice deterred him from 

 this course, and he entered upon a life of busi- 

 ness in Philadelphia. In 1809, choosing a com- 

 mercial career, Mr. Perit removed to New York 

 City, where he soon rose to eminence. In 1817 

 he became one of the partners in the well-known, 

 firm of Messrs. Goodhue & Co., shipping mer- 

 chants extensively engaged in foreign commerce, 

 and continued in that firm until its dissolution 

 in 1863. From 1853 to 1863 he was President 

 of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of 

 New York, and in that capacity took a promi- 

 nent part in the public affairs of the commer- 

 cial metropolis. His life was not devoted to 

 business alone, throughout its whole course he 

 was an active supporter ofthe institutions of 

 Christian benevolence. The American Board, 

 the American Tract Society, the Bible Society, 

 the Seamen's Friend Society, the Sailor's Snug 

 Harbor, and the New York Orphan Asylum, 

 were among the objects to which he devoted 

 Lis special attention. He was also at one time 

 a trustee of the New York University, and of 

 the Union Theological Seminary. His philan- 

 thropic sympathies were strong and deep. Dur- 

 ing the tcrriblo epidemic of cholera which 



swept the ciiy in 1832, and thousands were 

 flying from danger, he saw the difficulty of 

 filling the ward committees for the distribution 

 of public charity, and sought, himself, a place 

 among the number. 



Residing in the Sixth Ward, the section which 

 fell to his care bordered on the "Five Points," 

 one of the most deadly portions of the city. 

 Here he faithfully performed his work of love, 

 relieving the distressed, ministering to the sick, 

 and offering spiritual consolation to the dying. 

 His characteristic sympathy for the poor and 

 suffering led him to take an earnest and promi 

 nent part in the repeated movements in New 

 York for the starving population of Ireland. 



At the time of his death Mr. Perit was en- 

 gaged in the preparation of a work for the Gov- 

 ernment on the Commerce of the United States, 

 which was nearly completed. 



PERU, a republic in South America. Its 

 area is estimated at 508,986 square miles, and 

 the population (in 1860) at 2,865,000 ; the ma- 

 jority of the inhabitants are descendants of 

 Spaniards mixed with Indians. 



The executive power is entrusted to a Presi- 

 dent, assisted by a Vice-President, both elected 

 by the people for a term of six years. The 

 Senate, in 1864, was composed of 36 members, 

 and the House of Representatives of 86. The 

 president of the Republic is at present Gen- 

 eral Don Miguel Anthony Pezet, elected Vice- 

 President of the republic in April, 1862 ; suc- 

 ceeded to the presidency at the death of Presi- 

 dent San Ramon, April 3d, 1863. 



The revenue of the republic, in 1861, amount- 

 ed to 821,245,832, about three-fourths of which 

 (816,921,751) were derived from the sale of 

 guano. It is calculated that the deposits on 

 the guano islands, particularly the Chincha and 

 Lobos Islands, contain about 16,000,000 tons, of 

 the estimated value of eighty millions sterling. 

 The amount of guano exported from the Chin- 

 cha Islands in 1863, was 313,479 tons. The 

 total amount of exports, in 1863, was $32,598- 

 610. The public debt on December 31st, 1863, 

 amounted to $34,288,243. 



The army, in 1864, was composed as follows : 



Infantry, 12 battalions of 700 men each S,4i>} 



Cavalry, 4 regiments of 300 men each 1,203 



Artillerv, one regiment of infantry and one of cavalry, 1,000 

 Gendarmerie (infantry 4,380, cavalry 1,028) 5,408 



Total : 16,008 



The fleet, in 1864, consisted of eight steamers 

 and ten sailing vessels, together carrying ninety 

 guns. 



A highly-important discovery was made by 

 the Peruvian steamer Morano, sent to explore 

 the Amazon. It safely arrived at the Port May- 

 ro, having solved the problem of the navigation 

 of the grand pathway which unites the Atlantic 

 with the Virgin and very rich mountains of 

 Peru, and which opens a route for direct com- 

 munication between Peru, E'.xrope, and the 

 eastern coast of the continent. Mayro is situ- 

 ated ninety-five leagues from Lima. The^Mo- 

 rauo draws seven feet of wata^ and frorr Nauta 



