obtained only at the home of the trader. Hence, the main object with the agency is, to furnish THE HOME STANDING of the merchant, obtained from intelligent and reliable sources, THERE.

If, in his own little circle at home, the trader is considered honest, attentive to business, of good business qualifications, and doing well, with a sufficient capital, is not the statement of these facts a positive benefit to himself, and the community in which he resides, as well as to the city merchant from whom he buys his goods. If, on the other hand, the trader is notoriously dishonest; or otherwise so disqualified for business, as to have no credit at home, is it not every way right and proper that it should be known in all those places away from home, where he may seek to obtain a credit? Would not the interests of the several parties before referred to be equally consulted, by preventing him from obtaining goods? In both cases, the legitimate ends of healthful trade are alike answered; and the reporter has the satisfaction of knowing that he is promoting the real interests of society.

To carry out the credit system, intelligently and safely, the creditor must be well acquainted with the debtor's confidence, is the life of the system, and confidence can rest only in knowledge. Before the establishment of this agency, our merchants were in the habit of getting such information of their customers as they could, by correspondence or otherwise. Some of the larger houses, whose business would justify the expense, employed traveling agents. These they kept constantly out, in different parts of the country, looking after and reporting their debtors, and collecting debts. The smaller houses were, of course, deficient in the knowledge so necessary to their success in business, while the larger ones purchased their information at too high a cost. The agency obviates these difficulties. By an extensive and well sustained system of correspondence, extending to every part of the United States and Canada, it obtains the requisite information respecting every trader in the country, whose business leads him to contract debts away from home. This information is copied in books prepared for the purpose, and held for the use of such merchants as pay for it, and want it. It is not made public. It is not communicated, even to subscribers, except when the trade, by soliciting credit, renders inquiry into his circumstances necessary. It is made known only to those with whom he proposes to trade. If he does not ask a credit at all, it remains on the record, unread and unseen, from year to year.

It appears, then, that the object of the system is simply to furnish the merchant subscriber with such information as will enable him to judge whether or not, and to what extent, he should give credit to parties applying for it-thereby rendering the credit system safe and profitable.

That this is justifiable and right, no one who reflects for a moment will be disposed to deny. The man who seeks to purchase goods on credit, or otherwise to contract a debt, virtually challenges investigation as to his responsibility. The city merchants are always ready to afford facilities to those who may wish to become their customers. They are anxious to sell their goods, and expect to sell the greater part of them on time; and only ask to know who and what the men are, whom they are called on to credit. What reasonable objection can such men make, when inquiry is made as to their property, character, and business qualifications The banker will not discount a note unless he knows something of the party, or parties, whose names appear on it. And why should the merchant be expected to sell his goods to a man of whom he knows nothing? And how,

or where, is he to obtain the necessary information? Certainly at the home of the trader. There, and there only, can he learn whether he owns property, and is a man of good character-whether he does a legitimate or a speculative business-and whether he is competent, steady, and attentive, or otherwise.

It is evident that information of this kind must be had, or the credit system greatly curtailed, and, at times, almost wholly abandoned. The man who gives his neighbor credit, does so because he believes he knows him, and has confidence in his integrity, and ability to pay. A stranger he will not credit, until, by obtaining the necessary information as to his character, responsibility, &c., he has acquired a degree of confidence which is equivalent to a personal acquaintance. This confidence, and the information on which it is grounded, is the indispensable basis of credit. The buyer knows and feels this, as well as the seller. He does not presume to ask a credit, without showing some reasonable ground for it in his position and property. He knows that the seller will investigate his statement. He cannot, he does not object to his doing so. If his condition be a healthy one, he is glad to have him do so. It follows, therefore, that the obtaining such information is justifiable and necessary. If the creditor may justly and honorably obtain it for himself, may he not properly employ an agent to do it for him? Qui facit per alium facit per se. And may not the merchants of any city, or section, combine to have it all done at a vast saving of time, labor, and expense, by one or more agents.

Having thus briefly stated the object, we proceed to glance at the OPERATIONS of the agency, merely premising that our statements and opinions are the result of careful inquiry and personal examination. And here, the first thought that presesents itself is this-that the preprietors can have no possible motive for injuring or misrepresenting any man. Their true and only interest is, to get as near as possible to the truth in every report. The least deviation on either side from this standard, may have, nay must have an unfavorable influence upon their own prosperity. If they report a man too favorably, and the subscriber, thus induced to trust him, loses his debt, they are blamed. If they report him too unfavorable, and the subscriber thereby loses a good paying customer, they are equally blamed. In fact, the entire success of the system depends upon the general truthfulness and justice of their records-upon having every report they give out verified by the results to which it leads. This, we are assured, the proprietors fully understand, and act upon to the utmost of their ability, sparing no pains or expense to secure the greatest accuracy in every case.

Having thus the guarantee of the self-interest, as well as of the character of the proprietors, it would seem that the subscribers must have confidence in the agency. There is, however, another matter of primary importancethe reliability of the sources from which information is obtained. That information can easily be had, respecting any man, is granted. But, can the agency procure and retain the services of men, as correspondents, whose character and standing in society would entitle them to confidence. The best proof which can be afforded of the possibility of procuring correspondents of the right sort, is, the general accuracy of the reports they furnish. If these, as a whole, are true and reliable, it follows that the parties furnishing them, must be men of judgment, veracity, and honor, capable of forming an accurate estimate of their fellow men; and not likely to report a man unfavorably from personal pique, or too favorably from personal friendship. The reports of

the agency being so far satisfactory and useful to the mercantile community, as to induce a large and growing subscription to its terms, is proof enough that it has correspondents of this character in all parts of our Union and o Canada. We are informed that the number is but little less than two thousand.

We presume the proprietors do not pretend to infallibility; but we are satisfied that the records of the office are rarely inaccurate, and never seriously so. Indeed, the plan pursued insures accuracy; for they deal in facts, and not in opinions. For instance they record the amount of real estate held by the trader; its incumbrances, if any; whether or not he permits judgments to go against him; whether he speculates, and if so, to a dangerous extent, or otherwise; whether he is attentive to business, and is capable of managing it; whether he bears a good character for integrity in his dealings, and promptness in his payments, &c. These facts are made known to the merchant, who is then left to form his own opinion, not only as to the propriety of giving credit, but as to the extent to which it should be given. To illustrate this matter more fully, the following specimens are given, showing the general character of the reports on record, and the kind of information that is sought for. The names are, of course, fictitious.

JAMES W. JONES & CO. (JAMES M. JONES, WM. SMITH, AND WILLIS R. PHIPPS.) Ages, 45, 35, and 25. Jones and Smith are married. All three of good character, business-habits, and responsibility. Jones has been in business 15 yearsis worth $15,000, of which $5,000 is in clear real estate. Smith has been in business 10 years, is worth $5,000--has no real estate: Phipps is son-in-law of Jones, was their clerk, and has made $1,500. They keep a stock of about $8,000-are prompt, not speculative, and deemed safe for all their engagements. William Johnson.--Age 36, single, in business, off and on, ten years: formerly Johnson & Stone. Went into bankruptcy in 1840-began last spring. Habits irregular, worth little or nothing-credit poor.

But again we refer to facts, as evidence on this point. The rapid growth of the agency during the past five years, its vastly increased patronage, and the increasing confidence in it by the merchants in our large cities, are sufficient proof that the reports furnished are substantially correct, and a safe guide in their credit operations. We have, also, tested this point on a small scale, but quite to our own satisfaction. We have inquired for parties well known to us, and found the reports, in all cases, in admirable harmony with our own opinion and knowledge of facts.

We think ourselves incapable of saying one word in favor of any system of espionage; and, did we believe this to be one, it should have our heartiest condemnation. That it is not, is made sufficiently clear by the nature of the information sought for. The records of the county where the trader resides, which are always open to inspection, furnish an important part of this information. The rest is matter of common observation and remark among his neighbors.

Keeping in view the object of these agencies, we think their system of operations, as far as we have referred to them, admirably adapted for carrying out that object. The city merchant has furnished to him all the information he needs, or desires, at a much cheaper rate than he could procure it for himself, and with a promptness which it would be impossible for him to equal through any other channel. This information is revised and reviewed twice a year, and as much oftener, as, in the judgment of the creditors, the case demands. A continuous history of the customer is thus

preseved, by which the creditor's knowledge of him is made to approximate, as nearly as possible, to a personal acquaintance. If the trader in Eastport, Toronto, Dunkirk, Milwaukie, Richmond, Raleigh, Galveston, or San Francisco, meets with a heavy loss, by fire or otherwise; makes a splendid operation; has property left him; or his note protested;-the fact is immediately communicated to all the associate offices, and by them to the creditors. It is not published to the world, but made known only to those, who, by having made special inquiry for the party, are presumed to be interested in his success. That this is considered a valuable aid to our merchants, is evidenced by the fact that, as we are informed, that some seven hundred of our largest mercantile houses are subscribers to the principal agency; and that the offices in other places are, also, handsomely sustained while the merchants in cities, yet unprovided for, are anxious for the extension of the sys

tem.

A simple inspection of the office in New York is sufficient to satisfy any man, that it is largely and liberally patronized. Shrewd men do not make an expensive show of business merely for effect. Upwards of thirty men are constantly occupied in the details of this office alone, condensing, copying, and giving out reports, carrying on the correspondence, &c., &c. Their records are contained in more than 100 books, of the size of the largest leger, extending to 600 and 700 pages each.

One other point in the operations, and one of considerable importance, remains to be noticed, and that is its effect upon the country trader. On this point, we have expressed the opinion, which is the result of deliberate examination, that the system is as useful to those who seek credit, as to the city merchants who are called upon to give it. It is a well known fact, that formerly, the trader was confined in his purchases to a few houses, where he might have formed an acquaintance. If wholly unacquainted, he was obliged to take letters from responsible parties at home, and was limited in his business relations, to the few to whom those letters were addressed. Under the present arrangement, the trader needs no letter of introduction. He is known to the whole list of the agency's subscribers, or, if not known, becomes so, as soon as he asks a credit. He has the range of the entire market in all the cities where these offices are established; the communication between them being such, that what is known to one is known to all. He need not even leave home to make his purchases. His order is as good as his presence, and will always be promptly met, to the extent of what his intelligent neighbors regard as safe and prudent. This, surely, is a great advantage, which the honest, capable, and trustworthy trader cannot fail to appreciate. We are confident, from what we have seen and learned of the workings of the system, that the instances in which it enlarges credit to the country trade, are vastly more numerous than those in which it restrains, or prevents it. There are, doubtless, many who, without being aware of it, are now indebted to this agency for a good standing, and a favorable position, in places, and with houses, where once they were wholly unknown. Their sphere of operations is enlarged, their business acquaintances increased, and all their facilities for conducting a profitable trade greatly extended.

A second advantage, and by no means a light one, which the country trader derives from this system, is the protection it affords against the unhealthy and injurious competition of fraudulent, or incompetent neighbors, in the same business. There is no greater drawback to the success of an honest, industrious tradesman, in a small town, or village, than the irregu

lar, shuffling transactions of a weak, lame, broken-winged, or wingless rival, who does everything at hap-hazard, buying at any price, and selling at any sacrifice, merely to keep up a flow of business, out of which he may manage to live for the time being. There are many grades of such characters in the business world. Some of them are flagrantly dishonest, expecting and willing to fail, now and then, and resolved, at all events, to have a living out of any whom they can surprise into trusting them. Some, on the other hand, are well intentioned, but incompetent, without knowing why, or how, they find themselves, every now and then, in failing circumstances. These are more to be respected than the other class, but scarcely more to be trusted. They are as much in the way of the capable, energetic, well trained business man's success, as the other. They have no rules to go by; but provide, as they can, for such exigency as it arises. They never know what they are worth, or whether they are worth anything at all. When they open an account, or give a note, they never know whether they can pay it or not. They hope to pay it, and intend to, if they can. The experience of every well-bred merchant and trader can furnish originals for the picture. Against the vexatious and ruinous competition of such men, the mercantile agency is designed and calculated to protect them. It would not injure the weak, or the unfortunate; but would commend them to employments which they are capable of managing. Trade is a science, to which many, who would make excellent mechanics, or agriculturists, are wholly incompetent.

A third advantage to the capable and enterprising trader, is found in the fact, that he is, by this system, brought very near to his creditors, as it were, always under his eye, and will, consequently, be stimulated to greater watchfulness, care, and circumspection in his business. He will not be so readily tempted into rash speculations, or other irregular transactions, which so often result in disaster and dishonor. It is no discredit, even to an honest man, to say that he is safe under the wholesome restraints, and jealous vigilance of society, than he would be without them. Many a man, with the most upright intentions, and the most confident expectations of a favorable result, has been induced to invest a portion of his means, or, to speak more properly, of the means of his creditors, in some promising, but unfortunate enterprise, which he would not have touched if those creditors had been near, and cognizant of the movement. Prudence is the better part, not only of valor, but of thrift; and prudence, like the other virtues, is all the better for being watched.

Under the old system, it was impossible to hold an effective check upon the imprudent speculations of good men, or the swindling speculations of bad ones. Such operations were, in general, known only to those who suffered by them; and the operators having lost credit with them, had only to begin again with some new concern, and repent the operation. Sometimes it happened that a trader, who had run himself out with one set of creditors, would by them be palmed off upon another, as one whom they had trusted-the object of the introduction being to get their own pay, in full, by shifting off the debt on their friends.

On all such operations, the agency is an admirable check. The parties reported are known, not to their present creditors only, but to all with whom they seek to open a credit-not in New York alone, but equally in all the cities where the associate offices are established. Such checks we regard as decidedly salutary and wholesome, and equally so to the well-meaning and prudent trader in the country, as to his prudent creditor in the city.