TAYLOR, FORT. 



TELEGRAPH. 



675 



An instance of the difficulties that were pre- 

 sented by the operation of the new tariff as com- 

 pared with the old, presents itself in the case of 

 cottons. Under former tariffs there was one 

 rate, viz.: by that of 1842, 30 per cent.; of 

 1846, 25 per" cent. ; and of 1857. 24 per cent., 

 on the invoice value. The tariff of 1861 made 

 nearly 30 different charges on cotton goods. 

 Thus, unbleached cotton cloth, 100 threads or 

 less to the square inch, and weighing less than 5 

 ounces per square yard, paid 2 cents per square 

 yard ; and the same over 5 ounces, 1$ cents, the 

 charge increasing with the number of threads to 

 the square inch. Different charges in all these 

 cases were made for bleached, and still others 

 for colored, ten per cent, ad valorem being added 

 to the square yard duties in the latter. These and 

 other complications produced a great change in 

 the various departments of the custom-house. 

 The appraisers required instruments of various 

 kinds scales and weights, measures, provers for 

 counting threads, magnifying glasses, gauges and 

 hydrometers all of which had become neces- 

 sary in ascertaining the quantities and values 

 of merchandise. 



The general depression in business prevented 

 much revenue from the tariff, and in December 

 a new law was passed, raising the duty on teas 

 to 20 per cent, and on coffee to 5 cents ; on raw 

 sugar to 2^ cents, clayed do. 3 cents, refined 5 

 cents, confectionery 8 cents ; molasses, 6 cents a 

 gallon. These were all the alterations made by 

 that act. The amount of revenue raised under 

 each act in New York City was as follows : 



The average rate for 1860 was 19 per cent, 

 and for 1861 23^ per cent in the whole year ; 

 for the last 5 months, however, it was 34 per 

 cent, and the yield was far less than for the 

 same period the former year; the result was 

 a decline of $4,738,580, or 35 per cent 



TAYLOR, FORT. This fort is located at Key 

 West, Florida. It forms an irregular quadrangle, 

 with three channel curtains of equal length and 

 a gorge or shore curtain of much greater length. 

 It is situated near the southwest point of the 

 island, in from six to twelve feet of water, and 

 distant from the shore three hundred yards. 

 The foundation is granite, and the superstruc- 

 ture brick. The scarp walls are eight feet t?iick, 

 and rise to the height of forty-one feet from 

 the water's edge. It has two tiers of casemates, 



id one barbette tier, and mounts one hundred 

 and twenty 8 and 10-inch colnmbiads on the 

 channel fronts, and forty-five heavy guns on 

 the shore fronts. This remains in the possession 

 of the United States, and is strongly garrisoned. 



TELEGRAPH, ELECTRIC. The "electric tele- 

 graph during 1861 made rapid progress in its 



appointed work of putting a girdle round the 

 earth. The overland line, from western Mis- 

 souri to San Francisco, was completed on the 

 22d of October, thus placing that city in imme- 

 diate connection with New York and the other 

 eastern cities. The first continuous message 

 sent, was the following : " The Pacific to the 

 Atlantic sends greeting; and may both oceans 

 be dry before a foot of all the land that lies 

 between them shall belong to any other than 

 one united country." On the first day after 

 the line was opened for business, forty through 

 despatches were sent, besides a considerable 

 number of congratulatory messages. As the dif- 

 ference in longitude between New York and San 

 Francisco is about 48 30', if a despatch could 

 be sent instantaneously through, from the for- 

 mer to the latter city, it would reach San Fran- 

 cisco three hours and fifteen minutes before 

 the time at which it left New York, according 

 to the clocks of each city; so that a despatch 

 sent from New York to San Francisco at half- 

 past ten o'clock A. M., might find the man to 

 whom it was addressed yet in bed; and one 

 sent from New York after business hours, would 

 reach there about mid-day. Practically, how- 

 ever, the transmission of a despatch takes an 

 appreciable amount of time, as the weather is 

 rarely in a condition in which the message can 

 be transmitted without one or more (often four 

 or five) repetitions at different points. On rare 

 occasions, when the atmosphere along the en- 

 tire line is in a proper condition, messages have 

 been sent even from Halifax to San Francisco 

 without interruption. 



The Russian Government, stimulated in par^ 

 to the measure by the zeal and enterprise of 

 Perry McD. Collins, Esq., United States com- 

 mercial agent to the Amoor region, prosecuted 

 with great energy the erection of a line of tele- 

 graph to the lower Amoor, and has given en- 

 couragement and aid to a company for construct- 

 ing a line to connect this with ours at San Fran- 

 cisco. A telegraph line is now building from 

 San Francisco to Victoria, on Yancouver'a^sl- 

 and. and this will be extended to Sitka Island. 

 In November, 1861, only 5,000 miles remained 

 to complete the connection between western 

 Europe and America, by way of Siberia, and 

 this distance was rapidly shortening. Three 

 routes were proposed: the first, by way of 

 Behring's Straits, would require only about 

 40 miles of submarine cable ; the second, from 

 the mouth of the Amoor to Saghalien Island, 

 and thence up the east coast of that island, 

 across the sea of Okhotsk to Kamtchatka, 

 and across at or near Behring's Straits, would 

 require three submerged cables, none of them 

 of great length, the most considerable, that 

 across the sea of Okhotsk, being only about 400 

 miles long; the third route, and the one looked 

 upon with the most favor by the Russian- Gov- 

 ernment, would be to extend one branch through 

 the newly acquired Russian possessions to Pekin, 

 and if possible to Shanghai, and another by 

 Saghalien Island, f.cross the strait of La Pe- 



