secure circulation, for what they would bring in coin, in New York, and replace these bonds with those of our own state,.which were to be taken by our banks nominally at par-seventy per cent. being paid in cash, and the different banks purchasing bonds, giving their individual obligation for the thirty per cent. balance, to be paid in semi-annual installments, with an agreement that the state should deduct these installments from the interest so long as these bonds should remain on deposit with the state. By the terms of the law, sixty per cent. of the proceeds of the bonds had to be paid in coin. The bankers' committee went to work, and with some labor and difficulty induced most of the banks to sell their southern securities at the existing low prices in New York, and thus produce the coin required to pay for our state bonds. From the funds provided by the merchants and bankers, they assisted many of the weaker banks to make good their securities with the banking department of the state. By the 19th of July, six of the ten rejected banks that had been the occasion of the riot, were made good, and restored to the list. The other four were wound up, and their issues redeemed at par, and, before the last of August, the value of the securities of all the banks on the current list were brought up to their circulation, as shown by the comptroller's report.

Wisconsin currency at the time of the bank riot was at a discount of about 15 per cent., as compared with gold or New York exchange. At the middle of July the discount was 10 to 12 per cent., and early in August it fell to 5 per cent. The bankers' committee continued their work in preparation for the resumption of specie payment on December 1. While the securities for the bank circulation had been made good, it was, nevertheless, evident that many of the banks on the current list would not be equal to the continued redemption of their bills in specie, and that they would have to be wound up and got out of the way in season. Authority was got from such institutions, as fast as possible, for the bankers' committee to retire their circulation. and sell their securities. The Milwaukee banks and bankers took upon themselves the great burden of this business, having arranged among themselves to sort out and withhold from circulation the bills of these banks,― distributing the load among themselves in certain defined proportions. Instead of paying out these doubted bills, the different banks brought to the bankers' committee such amounts as they accumulated from time to time, and received from the committee certificates of deposit bearing seven per cent. interest, and these bills were locked up by the committee until the securities for these notes could be sold and the proceeds realized. Over $400,000 of this sort of paper was locked up by the committee at one time; but it was all converted into cash, and, when the first of December came, the remaining banks of this state were ready to redeem their issues in gold or its equivalent, and so continued to redeem until the issue of the legal-tender notes and the general suspension of specie payment in the United States.

In July, 1861, the number of our banks was 107, with capital, $4,607,000; circulation, $2,317,907; deposits, $3,265,069.

By the contraction incident to the preparations for redemption in specie, the amount of current Wisconsin bank notes outstanding December 1, 1861, was reduced to about $1,500,000. When that day came, there was quite a disposition manifested to convert Wisconsin currency into coin, and a sharp financial pinch was felt for a few days; but as the public became satisfied that the banks were prepared to meet the demand, the call for redemption rapidly fell off, and the banks soon began to expand their circulation, which was now current and in good demand all through the northwestern states. The amount saved to all the interests of our state, by this successful effort to save our banking system from destruction, is beyond computation. From this time our banks ran along quietly until prohibitory taxation by act of congress drove the bills of state banks out of circulation.

The national banking law was passed in 1863, and a few banks were soon organized under it in different parts of the country. The first in Wisconsin was formed by the re-organization of the Farmers' and Millers' Bank, in August, 1863, as the First National Bank of Milwaukee, with Edward D. Holton as president, and H. H. Camp, cashier. The growth of the new system, however, was not very rapid; the state banks were slow to avail themselves of the privileges of the national banking act, and the central authorities concluded to compel them to come in; so facilities were offered for their re-organization as national banks, and then a tax of ten per cent. was laid upon the issues of the state banks. This tax was imposed by act of March, 1865, and at once caused a commotion in our state. In July, 1864, the number of Wisconsin state banks was sixty-six, with capital $3,147,000, circulation $2,461,728, deposits $5,483,205, and these figures were probably not very different in the spring of 1865. The securities for the circulating. notes were in great part the bonds of our own state, which, while known by our own people to be good beyond question, had never been on the general markets of the country so as to be currently known there; and it was feared that in the hurried retirement of our circulation these bonds would be sacrificed, the currency depreciated, and great loss brought upon our banks and people. There was some excitement, and a general call for the redemption of our state circulation, but the banks mostly met the run well, and our people were disposed to stand by our own state bonds.

In April, 1861, the legislature passed laws, calling in the mortgage loans of the school fund, and directing its investment in these securities. The state treasurer was required to receive Wisconsin bank notes, not only for taxes and debts due the state, but also on deposit, and to issue certificates for such deposits bearing seven per cent. interest. By these and like means the threatened panic was stopped; and in the course of a few months Wisconsin state currency was nearly all withdrawn from circulation. In July, 1865, the number of state banks was twenty-six, with capital $1,087,000, circulation $192,323, deposits $2,284,210. Under the pressure put on by congress, the organization of national banks, and especially the re-organization of state banks, under the national system, was proceeding rapidly, and in a short time nearly every town in our own state of much size or importance was provided with one or more of these institutions.

In the great panic of 1873, all the Wisconsin banks, both state and national (in common with those of the whole country), were severely tried; but the failures were few and unimportant; and Wisconsin went through that ordeal with less loss and disturbance than almost any other state.

We have seen that the history of banking in Wisconsin covers a stormy period, in which great disturbances and panics have occurred at intervals of a few years. It is to be hoped that a more peaceful epoch will succeed, but permanent quiet and prosperity can not rationally be expected in the present unsettled condition of our currency, nor until we have gone through the temporary stringency incidental to the resumption of specie payment.

According to the last report of the comptroller of the currency, the number of national banks in Wisconsin in November, 1876, was forty, with capital $3,400,000, deposits $7,145,360, circulation $2,072,869.

At this time (July, 1877) the number of state banks is twenty-six, with capital $1,288,231, deposits $6,662,973. Their circulation is, of course, merely nominal, though there is no legal obstacle to their issuing circulating notes, except the tax imposed by congress.

COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.

BY HON. H. H. GILES.

The material philosophy of a people has to do with the practical and useful. It sees in iron, coal, cotton, wool, grain and the trees of the forest, the elements of personal comfort and sources of material greatness, and is applied to their development, production and fabrication for purposes of exchange, interchange and sale. The early immigrants to Wisconsin territory found a land teeming with unsurpassed natural advantages; prairies, timber, water and minerals, inviting the farmer, miner and lumberman, to come and build houses, furnaces, mills and factories. The first settlers were a food-producing people. The prairies and openings were ready for the plow. The ease with which farms were brought under cultivation, readily enabled the pioneer to supply the food necessary for himself and family, while a surplus was often produced in a few months. The hardships so often encountered in the settlement of a new country, where forests must be felled and stumps removed to prepare the soil for tillage, were scarcely known, or greatly mitigated.

During the decade from 1835 to 1845, so great were the demands for the products of the soil, created by the tide of emigration, that the settlers found a home market for all their surplus products, and so easily were crops grown that, within a very brief time after the first emigration, but little was required from abroad. The commerce of the country was carried on by the exchange of products. The settlers (they could scarcely be called farmers) would exchange their wheat, corn, oats and pork for the goods, wares and fabrics of the village merchant. was an age of barter; but they looked at the capabilities of the land they had come to possess, and, with firm faith, saw bright promises of better days in the building up of a great state.

It is not designed to trace with minuteness the history of Wisconsin through the growth of its commercial and manufacturing interests. To do it justice would require a volume. The aim of this article will be to present a concise view of its present status. Allusion will only be incidentally made to stages of growth and progress by which it has been reached.

Few states in the Union possess within their borders so many, and in such abundance, elements that contribute to the material prosperity of a people. Its soil of unsurpassed fertility; its inexhaustible mines of lead, copper, zinc and iron; its almost boundless forests; its water-powers, sufficient to drive the machinery of the world; its long lines of lake shore on two sides, and the "Father of waters" on another,― need but enterprise, energy and capital to utilize them in building an empire of wealth, where the hum of varied industries shall be heard in the music of the sickle, the loom and the anvil.

The growth of manufacturing industries was slow during the first twenty-five years of our history. The early settlers were poor. Frequently the land they tilled was pledged to obtain means to pay for it. Capitalists obtained from twenty to thirty per cent. per annum for the use of their money. Indeed, it was the rule, under the free-trade ideas of the money-lenders for them to play the Shylock. While investments in bonds and mortgages were so profitable, few were ready to improve the natural advantages the country presented for building factories and work-shops.

For many years, quite all the implements used in farming were brought from outside the state. While this is the case at present to some extent with the more cumbersome farm machinery, quite a proportion of that and most of the simpler and lighter implements are made at home, while much farm machinery is now manufactured for export to other states.

FURS.

The northwest was visited and explored by French voyageurs and missionaries from Canada at an early day. The object of the former was trading and gain. The Jesuits, ever zealous in the propagation of their religion, went forth into the unknown wilderness to convert the natives to their faith. As early as 1624, they were operating about Lake Huron and Mackinaw. Father Men rd, it is related, was with the Indians on Lake Superior as early as 1661. The early explorers were of two classes, and were stimulated by two widely different motives—the voyageurs, by the love of gain, and the missionaries, by their zeal in the propagation of their faith. Previous to 1679, a considerable trade in furs had sprung up with Indian tribes in the vicinity of Mackinaw and the northern part of "Ouisconsin." In that year more than two hundred canoes, laden with furs, passed Mackinaw, bound for Montreal. The whole commerce of this vast region then traversed, was carried on with birch-bark canoes. The French used them in traversing.

wilds otherwise inaccessible by reason of floods of water at one season, and ice and snow at another — also lakes and morasses which interrupted land journeys, and rapids and cataracts. that cut off communication by water. This little vessel enabled them to overcome all difficulties. Being buoyant, it rode the waves, although heavily freighted, and, of light draft, it permitted the traversing of small streams. Its weight was so light that it could be easily carried from one stream to another, and around rapids and other obstructions. With this little vessel, the fur trade of the northwest was carried on, as well as the interior of a vast continent explored. Under the stimulus of commercial enterprise, the French traders penetrated the recesses of the immense forests whose streams were the home of the beaver, the otter and the mink, and in whose depths were found the martin, sable, ermine, and other fur-bearing animals. A vast trade in furs sprung up, and was carried on by different agents, under authority of the French government.

When the military possession of the northwestern domain passed from the government of France to that of Great Britain in 1760, the relationship of the fur trade to the government changed. The government of France had controlled the traffic, and made it a means of strengthening its hold upon the country it possessed. The policy of Great Britain was, to charter companies, and grant them exclusive privileges. The Hudson bay company had grown rich and powerful between 1670 and 1760. Its success had excited the cupidity of capitalists, and rival organizations were formed. The business of the company had been done at their trading-stations -the natives bringing in their furs for exchange and barter. Other companies sent their voyageurs into every nook and corner to traffic with the trappers, and even to catch the fur-bearing animals themselves. In the progress of time, private parties engaged in trapping and dealing in furs, and, under the competition created, the business became less profitable. In 1815, congress passed an act prohibiting foreigners from dealing in furs in the United States, or any of its territories. This action was obtained through the influence of John Jacob Astor. Mr. Astor organized the American fur company in 1809, and afterward, in connection with the Northwest company, bought out the Mackinaw company, and the two were merged in the Southwest company. The association was suspended by the war of 1812. The American re-entered the field in 1816. The fur trade is still an important branch of traffic in the northern part of the state, and, during eight months of the year, employs a large number of men.

LEAD AND ZINC.

In 1824, the lead ore in the southwestern part of Wisconsin began to attract attention. From 1826 to 1830, there was a great rush of miners to this region, somewhat like the Pike's Peak excitement at a later date. The lead-producing region of Wisconsin covers an area of about 2,200 square miles, and embraces parts of Grant, Iowa and La Fayette counties. Between 1829 and 1839, the production of lead increased from 5,000 to 10,000 tons. After the latter year it rose rapidly, and attained its maximum in 1845, when it reached nearly 25,000 tons. Since that time the production has decreased, although still carried on to a considerable extent. The sulphate and carbonate of zinc abound in great quantities with the lead of southwest Wisconsin. Owing to the difficulty of working this class of ores, it was formerly allowed to accumulate about the mouths of the mines. Within a few years past, metallurgic processes have been so greatly improved, that the zinc ores have been largely utilized. At La Salle, in the state of Illinois, there are three establishments for smelting zinc ores. There is also one at Peru, Ill. To smelt zinc ores economically, they are taken where cheap fuel is available. Hence, the location of these works in the vicinity of coal mines. The works mentioned made in 1875, from ores mostly taken from Wisconsin, 7.510 tons of zinc. These metals are, therefore, important elements in the commerce of Wisconsin.

IRON.

The iron ores of Wisconsin occur in immense beds in several localities, and are destined to prove of great value. From their product in 1863, there were 3,735 tons of pig iron received at Milwaukee; in 1865, 4,785 tons; in 1868, 10,890 tons. Of the latter amount, 4,648 tons were from the iron mines at Mayville. There were shipped from Milwaukee, in 1868, 6,361 tons of pig iron. There were also received 2,500 tons of ore from the Dodge county ore beds. During 1869, the ore beds at Iron Ridge were developed to a considerable extent, and two large blast furnaces constructed in Milwaukee, at which place there were 4,695 tons of ore received, and 2,059 tons were shipped to Chicago and Wyandotte. In 1870, 112,060 tons of iron ore were received at Milwaukee, 95,000 tons of which were from Iron Ridge, and 17,060 tons from Escanaba and Marquette, in Michigan. The total product of the mines at Iron Ridge in 1871 was 82,284 tons. The Milwaukee iron company received by lake, in the same year, 28,094 tons of Marquette iron ore to mix with the former in making railroad iron. In 1872, there were received from Iron Ridge 85,245 tons of ore, and 5,620 tons of pig iron. Much of the metal made by the Wisconsin iron company in 1872 was shipped to St. Louis, to mix with the iron made from Missouri ore.

The following table shows the production of pig iron in Wisconsin, for 1872, 1873 and 1874,