No. 216.] 209 



are made in the products of the United States, which besides g'iving 

 a further employment to our marine, and a commission to our mer- 

 chants, would be sure to lead to an increase of trade from year to 

 year. There is now enough on hand to employ 10,000 tons of ship- 

 ping to take the same away, and the inability of finding a market 

 under our present tariff, has led to numerous applications here to 

 me, to notify the same to the government, in hopes of a remedy. 

 Salt 26 to 36 cents per bbl. A bbl. contains 4 Curacoa bushels, 

 equal to 3^ United States bushels." 



' The increase in the manufacture of salt at the New- York Ononda- 

 ga State Salines, has been 1,084,175 bushels of salt, more in 1846 

 than all the salt made in the State of New-York in 1839 ; and Mr. 

 Spencer, in his letter, estimates the quantity of salt made of the 

 Kenhawa salines in 1846, at 3,000,000 bushels, and this is 1,254,382 

 bushels more than was made in the State of Virginia in 1839. 



The average annual import of salt for ten years from and inclu- 

 ding 1832, to and including 1841 to Sept. 30, was 6,290,171 bush- 

 els, of 56 lbs. each, and for five and three-fourths years, ending June 

 30, 1847, 7,317,652 bushels, of 56 lbs. each; being an average an- 

 nual increase of 1,027,454 bushels. 



In 1839, the State duty imposed upon the manufacture of salt at 

 the Onondaga salines, was six cents per bushel, of 56 lbs.; it has 

 since been reduced, and is now but one cent per bushel of 56 lbs. 



The duty on the importation of salt from foreign ports and places 

 is now 20 per cent ad valorem. In 1832, the prices of Turk's Island 

 salt in the New-York city market, was from 50 to 53 cents per mea- 

 sured bushel; the import duty was then 10 cents for 56 lbs. salt. In 

 1847, the price of Turk's Island salt in the same market was from 

 25 to 36 cents the measured bushel. 



The island of St. Martins produces salt of excellent quality; it is 

 of greater specific gravity than any salt which comes to this market, 

 weighing about 87 lbs. to the measured bushel. It is sold at the 

 island at 9 cents per measured bushel. A letter from a salt planter 

 there to a commercial house here, has been kindly furnished me, from 



which I extract as follows: 



> 



" The Salt Pond here has yielded this crop about 700,000 bushels. 

 This island salt is not made from sea water, as is the case in other 

 [Am. Inst.] 



