28 [ 2 ] 
and county, amounted to 111.210, was 124,4 "50; and in 1820 when 
the population luoountecl to 137,097, was 78,837. 
Now, it" the tonnage had incicased in the same latio as the popu- 
lation, it would have been, in 1^20, 153,394, instead of 78,837: con- 
sequently, the tonnage ottlie povt ofPhiladelpliia in 1820, may he said 
to have been but about halt' of what it was in 1810. 
Though this gi\^at diminution is to be ascribed to various causes, 
there is no doiiht that the want of a good harbor at the mouti) of the 
bay, is one of very great influence: owing to tiiis wavit, many ves- 
sels postpone their departui'e fi'om foi-eign ports, tiiereby incui-ring 
very great ex|)enses, or, arriving off the Cajses at the unpro]>ittous 
season, are obliged to bear away for some neighbouring port. As to 
those which rtm the risk of the passage up lite Bay, nmny are much 
damaged, and otliers entirely lost. In tiie winter of 1809-10, a large 
number of vessels, in attesnpting tliis passage, were either destroyed 
in the bay by the ice, or wrecked u]3on the shore, or lost at sea, 
while itt pursuit of a iiarbor of safety. Since tiiat jieriod, the cap- 
tains have orders not to incur the like risk; and the winter ai-rivals 
are comparatively few. 'i'he regular packet-ships, which come u{)on 
the coast in winter, are ofleii obliged to bear away for New York, 
there to land their cai-goes, the transportation of which, owing to 
the badness of the roads at that season, is both tedious and costly. 
If there were a harbor at the mouth of the bay, vessels could drop 
anchor within it, to wait fni' the fust favorable chance to reach New 
Castle, w licnce they couid easily pi'oceed to Fhiladelphia, by taking 
advantage of t!iO openings in the i-iver, between those two places, 
which occur two or three times every winter. In like manner, ves- 
sels despatched from IMiiladeiphia, would descend to New Castle, 
and thence to the nioutli of the bay; thereto wait, if necessary, until 
the proper moment to proceed to sea. 
Besides the embarrassment to ctimmercial intercourse, the loss of 
time, and the increase of expenses, wiiich ai'C conscfpient upon the pre- 
sent state of things,* the preiuiuns of insurance is greatly increased 
hy the dangers to wiiich \''Hseis in winter ai'e exposed at the mouth 
of the Delaware. This psemium is from -\ to 1,] per centum, above 
the customary rate; and in cases which become desperate from the 
casualties to which vessels are exposed, in the attem|)t to enter the 
Delaware, insurance is cither refused, or an exoibitant premium de- 
manded. 
As to the losses of vessels which have actually happened, for want 
of a proper shelter, it is diilicult, though they liave ursquestionabiy 
been numerous, to determine the uumber, oj- to state the amount of 
propei-ty. Tiiey can only be ascertained, by research amongst the 
journals of the period, and amongst the records of the several Insur- 
ance Oftices, both in this city aiid elsewhere, to which research, the 
commission does not feel warrasitcd to devote t!ie time it would re- 
quire: but thus much appears to be certain, that the ship owners in 
Fhiladeljdiia, in consideration of the trouble, risk, exi)ense, and loss, 
')f the navigation, do not order one in ten of their vessels to this port 
