The other officers of his vessels were also usually selected from Nantucket.

During the war Nantucket was in want of supplies; Mr. Barker purchased the New York pilot boat Champlain, and caused her to be loaded at Norfolk with flour, and dispatched for that place, under the command of Bethewel Pinkham. When near the island a heavy fog set in; when it cleared away she was within a half gunshot of a British seventy-four, captured, and vessel and cargo lost.

In 1825 the merchants and banks at Nantucket became much embarrassed in their pe cuniary concerns; they sent a committee to New York who, through Barker's aid, procured a loan of $300,000 on a pledge of oil to be left on the island.

Subsequently he established steamboat communication between that place and New Bedford by placing on that line the Marco Bozarris, under the command of Edward H. Barker.

Had Mr. Barker's affairs prospered as much subsequent to Jefferson's embargo as they did prior to that measure, the business of Nantucket might at this day have been in a more prosperous state, his predilections being in favor of his youthful playmates and their home, which is celebrated for the excellence of their codfish chowder for their evening repast, and green corn puddings at their afternoon tea par ties. These exquisite dishes are seldom met with at other places, except among those who have left the island, or their descendants.

However, on one occasion when Mr. Barker was dining with General Jackson at the Whit, House, a first rate green corn pudding was among the good things of which he partook on that occasion, from which he concluded that the Tennessee people had become possessed of the secret how to make the best use of maize.

Colonel Boyd, of Massachusetts, having served in the British army in the East Indies, was rewarded with permission to export from Calcutta a cargo of saltpetre to the United States, to pay for which Mr. Barker's London correspondent furnished the money; a British ship was chartered for the purpose, loaded at Calcutta, and sailed for New York, consigned to Mr. Barker.

On her passage she called at the Cape of Good Hope for refreshments, before which the relations with the United States assumed so

squally an appearance that Great Britain did not like to supply her with such a quantity of saltpetre, and on the pretence that it had been shipped in violation of the rights of the East India Company, the authorities of the Cape of Good Hope seized it and sent the ship off in ballast.

On her arrival below New York being announced, Mr. Barker thought his commission was secure; on her coming up he found he had calculated too fast.

Colonel Boyd was subsequently compensated by the British government, leaving Mr. Barker minus his anticipated commissions. This being in the early part of his commercial career was a great disappointment to him.

Mr. Barker also received from those London friends a consignment for account of Mr. Fulton, of the first steam engine ever in successful operation for propelling vessels. It was made by Messrs. Bolton and Watts, celebrated for constructing steam machinery. It remained in Mr. Barker's store in South street many months before Mr. Fulton could raise the funds to pay for it. The engine was placed on the first steamboat that navigated the Hudson; Mr. Barker thinks her name was the North River, and that she attained the speed of four miles an hour. Little did he then think this discovery of the immortal Fulton would in less than half a century regulate the commerce of the whole world, become so powerful an auxiliary in all war measures, save time and shorten space to such a degree that to be deprived of its use would be universally considered a calamity of the first magnitude.

Very soon after entering the employ of Mr. Hicks, Mr. Barker acquired a thorough knowledge of the art of book-keeping, adopting the plan of full explanation in the original entry, referring to it thereafter by folios, and when goods were purchased or sold for account of parties, or moneys drawn from different banks and delivered among different parties, commencing his entries "Sundry accounts debtor to sundry accounts," debiting each receiver for what he had received, and crediting each bank or owner with their proportion of all that had been parted with all in one entry; and when a parcel of goods belonging to a single concern has been sold to various parties, or money drawn from a bank and divided among several

persons, a single entry of "Sundry accounts debtor to the party," embracing the whole without mingling it with the cash account, unless a portion of the money remained, in which case that account should become one of the sundry accounts for such residue.

If young men wishing to acquire a knowledge of book-keeping would consider well this form of entry, and understand the principle, they would have but little more to do to acquire the whole art, as nothing is more easy than to transfer such entries from the waste to the journal, and from the journal to the ledger.

His plan of calculating interest was to increase the amount of each item of dollars by multiplying them by the number of days, (throwing away the fractions under fifty, adding

one dollar to the items where the fractions were over fifty,) leaving a single sum (the balance of debits and credits) on which to calculate the interest for one day, thus having but one item on which to calculate the interest, however

long the account might be, in place of calculating it on each item.

Mr. Barker soon acquired so thorough an acquaintance with Mr. Hicks' business, and made himself so useful, that he was entrusted with its principal management, particularly when that gentleman had occasion to be absent from the city. He was successful in having all his transactions approved by his chief.

Mr. Barker's family, Isaac Hicks, from whom he received his mercantile education, and his father-in-law, Thomas Hazard, jr., all being Democratic, it was to have been expected that he would grow up in that faith, and so it turned out, and he took an early part in political matters; before he had a vote his voice was heard and his pen was felt in the good cause.

The odious alien and sedition law fettered the press, and the stamp law of John Adams bothered him in his business; its repeal became an object of deep interest; this urged him on in the support of Jefferson.

In those days party feeling ran very high; the purchase of Louisiana was a theme on which the Federalists rang all their changes; they denounced Jefferson as being under French influence; accused him when the Hornet was sent to Belgium with two millions of specie to pay for Louisiana as paying tribute to Bonaparte; ridiculed the purchase with the ap

pig, and such like comparisons. On all occa sions Mr. Barker approved of and vindicated this purchase, incurring the keenest enmity of the opponents of the administration, who considered it the great gun by which they were to regain power.

Mr. Barker passed with Mr. Jefferson at the White House the evening of the day on which he sent to Congress the message developing Burr's conspiracy. He appeared much pleased at the failure of the scheme, spoke of the arrival of Erick Bolman, one of the supposed conspirators, a prisoner from New Orleans, at Charleston; the interference of his political opponents to have Bolman released, for which purpose they took out a writ of habeas corpus, and sent the sheriff with it, to bring the prisoner into court from Fort Sullivan, where he was confined.

The colonel in command refused to receive the mandate from the sheriff, on the ground that a military officer could only receive orders from his superior, therefore the sheriff must proceed to Washington, and serve the process on the President of the United States, the commander in chief of our whole military force. This subterfuge enabled the colonel to retain the prisoner until he should receive orders from Washington.

The sage of Monticello remarked: "This colonel seems to have been an old soldier, with more respect for military discipline than for civil authorities."

The conversation turned on Blennerhasset, who was supposed to be concerned in the plot,

countries. Mr. Jefferson said they were a hardy and enterprising race, capable of enduring great fatigue; that we had been and continued to be greatly benefitted by their ser vices; the shorter the period of their probation before they become citizens the better. Exclude them from the blessings of citizenship, and you create a powerful set of men all over the nation, who would act together on the sounding of a single word, who might become very dangerous, when a just and liberal course toward them would have the effect to make them consider us all of one family, embarked in the same ship. They should, said he, be estimated by their virtues and intelligence.

Mr. Jefferson also spoke of the European war, and the injustice of the course of the belligerents towards the United States. Said our merchants had better keep their property at home than to be thus despoiled of it; that the Quaker policy was best, not to have anything to do with those who would not deal justly.

The Democratic party believed that, so far as Great Britain was concerned, the restrictive system would be far more powerful than any war measures we could adopt.

This opinion prevailed among the most enlightened inhabitants of the United States.

Long before the revolution in 1765, they formed a league at Philadelphia, which received the signatures of men of the highest distinction, of every political party, of which Mr. Barker is in possession of an autographical copy, which reads thus

The merchants and traders of the city of Philadelphia, taking into their consideration the melancholy state of the North American commerce in general, and the distressed situation of the province of Pennsylvania in particular, do unanimously agree: That the many difficulties they now labor under, as a trading people, are owing to the restrictions, prohibitions, and ill-advised regulations made in several acts of the Parliament of Great Britain, lately passed to regulate the colonies, which have limited the exportation of some part of our country produce, increased the cost and expense of many articles of our importation and cut off from us all means of supplying our selves with specie enough even to pay the duties imposed on us, much less to serve as a medium of our trade. That this province is heavily in debt to Great Britain, for the manufactures and other importations from thence, which the produce of our lands have been found unequal to pay for, when a free exportation of it to the best markets was allowed of and such trades open as supplied us with cash and other articles of immediate remittance to Great Britain. That the late unconstitutional law, the stamp act, if carried into execution in this province, will further tend to prevent our making those remittances to Great Britain, for payment of old debts, or purchase of more goods, which the faith subsisting between the individuals trading with each other requires, and therefore, in justice to ourselves, to the traders of Great Britain, who usually give us credit, and to the consumers of British manufactures in this province, the subscribers hereto have voluntarily and unanimously come into the following resolutions and agreements, in hopes that their example will stimulate the

good people of this province to be frugal in their use and consumption of all manufactures excepting those of America, and lawful goods, coming directly from Ireland, manufactured there, whilst the necessities of our country are such as to require it; and in hopes that their brethren the merchants and manufacturers of Great Britain will find their own interest so intimately connected with ours, that they will be spurred on to befriend us from that motive, if no other should take place.

First. It is unanimously resolved and agreed that in all orders any of the subscribers to this paper may send to Great Britain for goods, they shall and will direct their correspondents not to ship them until the stamp act is repealed.

Secondly. That all those amongst the subscribers that have already sent orders to Great Britain for goods shall and will immediately countermand the same until the stamp act is repealed, except such merchants as are owners of vessels already gone or now cleared out for Great Britain, who are at liberty to bring back in them on their own accounts, coals, casks of earthenware, grindstones, pipes, iron pots, empty bottles, and such other bulky articles as owners usually fill up their ships with, but no dry goods of any kind, except such kind of dye stuffs and utensils necessary for carrying on manufactures that may be ordered by any person.

Thirdly. That none of the subscribers hereto shall or will vend any goods or merchandize whatsoever that shall be shipped them on com mission from Great Britain, after the first day of January next, unless the stamp act be re. pealed.

Fourthly. That these resolves and agree.

ments shall be binding on all and each of us the subscribers, who do hereby each and every person for himself, upon his word of honor, agree that he will strictly and firmly adhere to and abide by every article from this time till the first day of May next, when a meeting of the subscribers shall be called, to consider whether the further continuance of this obligation be then necessary.

Fifthly. It is agreed that if goods of any kind do arrive from Great Britain, at such time or under such circumstances as to render any signer of this agreement suspected of having broken his promise, the committee now appointed shall enquire into the premises, and if such suspected person refuses or cannot give | them satisfaction, the subscribers hereto will unanimously take all prudent measures to discountenance and prevent the sale of such goods, until they are released from this agreement by mutual and general consent.

Lastly. As it may be necessary that a committee of the subscribers be appointed to wait on the traders of this city, to get this present agreement universally subscribed, the following gentlemen are appointed for that purpose: Thomas Willing and Samuel Mifflin, esq's, Thomas Montgomery, Samuel Hewell, Samuel Wharton, John Rhea, William Fisher, Joshua Fisher, Peter Chevalier, Benjamin Fuller, and Abel James.

Thomas Willing,

Israel Morris, jr.,
Benjamin Gibbs,
Francis Teyes,

Robert Montgomery,
Samuel Caldwell,
John Ladd Howell,
Samuel Purviance, jr.,
John Rose, jr.,
Benjamin Wynkoop,
John Wikoff,
Francis Harris,
Samuel Morris, jr.,
Daniel Roberdeall,
William Lloyd,
James Harding,
Peter Reeve,
Samuel Hudson,
Daniel Benezet,
Samson Levy,
Joseph Dean,

Thomas Wallace, Benjamin Levy, Benjamin Swett, jr., Thomas Wharton, Daniel Rund & Co., John Nixon, Joseph Whorton, jr., Persifor Frazer, Enoch Story, John Ord, Caleb Jones, Josiah Hewes,

John & Peter Chevalier,Townsend White,
David Deshber,
David Sproat,
William Richards,
David Potts,
Wells & Jackson,
John and David Rhea,
Keefe Meredith,
Joseph Richardson,
Joshua Howell,
Richard Parker,
Samuel Morton,

John Hart,

William Heysham,

John Peirse,

Joshua Fisher & Son, Joseph Saunders,

William Bradford,

Thomas Turner, James & Drinker, Francis Wade, James Jann, Samuel Howell, William Rush,

Henry Donaldson,

Elijah Brown,

John Mifflin,
John Morton,
Archibald McCall,

John Measse, John Armitt, Samuel Meredith, Charles Coxe, Thomas Penrosse,

James Penrosse,

T. Morris, jr.,
Amos Strettell,
Joseph Swift,

Thomas Montgomery,
John Chew,
Stamper & Bingham,
Abra. Mitchell,
John Bayard,
John Gibson, jr.,
Thomas Smith,

John Cox, jr., Abraham Usher, Peter Wikoff, Frs. Richardson, jr., David Hall, Stephen Carmick, William Scott,

James Budden,

Conyngham & Nesbitt, Samuel Mathew, Carsan, Barclay & John Shee, Mitchell,

Robert Morris,

Thomas Wharton, jr., Benjamin Morgan, William Dowell, Charles Thomson, William Sidgreaves, James Benezet, William Henry,

George and John Kidd, Hyman Levy, jr., Peter Turner, sr., James Whardon, Isaac and Jos Paschall, John Bell,