Below we give a comparative statement of the average weekly prices of beef for 1860, 1861, 1862 and 1863; also, statement of yearly average prices of beef and other stock :

1860. 1861. 1862. 1863.

1860. 1861. 1862. 1863.

16

23

80

Apr. 6

18

20

27

May 4

11

81

8×

81

18

25

June 1

8

15

22

8

81

81

81

77

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ 00 00 00 1

71

81 71

74 78

101

71

71

71

7%

81 71

8 7

8

74

81

74

Aug. 8

81 71

10

77

17

89

བ༠བལབ་བས

7

91

81

7 ៖

94

71

7

74

71

78

81

101

21

81

It should be remembered that a very considerable portion of the fresh meats consumed in this market, which are brought by the North River barges, and in

51c $4.21

7 c $34 77 4 c $4.54

71 74 94 71

1862.

7 c

1863.

9666o ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞σ66

91

91

84

8

81

84

84

81

84

9

91

91

98

$34 50

91c $41 00

various ways from New Jersey and Long Island, as dressed beeves, hogs, calves, sheep, &c., are not embraced in the above statement.

SUGAR TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES.

THE N. Y. Shipping List gives a very full and valuable statement of the importation and consumption of unrefined sugar the past year. The total receipts of foreign raw sugars into the United States, excluding the States on the Pacific, for the year ending December 31, 1863, were 243,137 tons, against receipts in 1862 of 247,015 tons; in 1861, 242,908 tons; in 1860, 341,532 tons; in 1859, 262,829 tons; in 1858, 255,100 tons; in 1857, 269,180 tons; and in 1856, 275,662 tons; and that the consumption of foreign in 1863 was 231,308 tons, against a consumption of foreign in 1862 of 241,411 tons; in 1861, 241,420 tons; in 1860, 296,950 tons; in 1859, 239,034 tons; in 1858, 244,758 tons; in 1857, 241,765 tons; and in 1856, 255,292 tons; while the total consumption of foreign and domestic cane sugar in 1863 was 284,308 tons, against a total consumption in 1862 of 432,411 tons; in 1861, 363,819 tons; in 1860, 415,281 tons; and in 1859, 431,184 tons, being a decrease in the consumption of 1863, as compared with 1862, of 148,103 tons or 341 per cent.

This very large decline in the consumption of the country may be attributed partly to the unusual prices the article has commanded, but chiefly to the almost entire exclusion, during the whole of the past year, of a considerable portion of the population of the States in insurrection from all access to this product of the cane; up to the summer months of 1862, the supply needed in those States was drawn from the cane fields of Louisiana, the very bountiful yield of which, in 1861, was far more than sufficient to meet all their wants, but from that period some five millions of the inhabitants of the country may be said to have become emphatically, for the time being, non-consumers.

Owing to the high prices that have prevailed for refined sugar, there has been an increased demand for the low and cheaper grades, and hence the consumption of sugars made from molasses has been much larger than in former years. After carefully collating the information in our possession, we feel justified in stating that not less than 95,000 hogsheads of molasses have been taken by manufacturers, yielding about 21,250 tons of clarified sugar.

The crop of maple sugar last season was a fair average, the unusual value attaching to it having stimulated the farmer to increased endeavors in that direction. If the season had been ordinarily propitious, a very large crop would have been made the estimates are about the same as last year, say 25,000 tons.

California and Oregon are steadily, though not rapidly, advancing their consumption; from the data at hand, we gather that the quantity of raw taken did not vary far from 10,000 tons.

Sanguine hopes are still entertained with respect to the capabilities of the Sorgho to supply the vacuum caused by the almost total annihilation of the Louisiana cane crop, and the cultivation of the plant is rapidly extending over the Western States; as yet, but little sugar has been made from it, but large quantities of syrup have, and, even in that state, it has interfered very materially with cane sugar in many parts of the country, especially at those points where transportation is difficult and expensive. We may notice also, in this connec

tion, that great effort is being made in the West to foster the cultivation of the sugar beet, for the manufacture of sugar; the friends of this plant maintain that sugar can be made from the beet nearly as economically as in continental Europe, where beet sugar forms so large a portion of the annual consumption.

It will thus be seen that the consumption of the country of all kinds of raw sugar, the past year, may be put down at 340,500 tons, against a consumption in 1862 of 483,000 tons, being a decrease of 142,500 tons, or 291 per cent.

As regards the probable course of the market for the year now entered upon, it would seem that, in any event, high prices must rule; it is generally understood that the crop of beet sugar, not only in France, but throughout the Continent, the past season, was much below the average, and therefore a larger European demand will be experienced in the producing countries. Should the crops not be larger than the average, this cannot fail to have an effect on the value of the article. The crop of Louisiana will be merely a shadow of former years; in the present disordered state of affairs there, it is impossible to arrive as closely at the probable yield as we have done previously-the estimates vary from 50.000 to 70.000 hogsheads. The early and severe frosts inflicted, beyond doubt, some injury, perhaps not so large as has been stated, but we doubt if the crop will exceed 60,000 hogsheads; it is understood, however, that of the large crop of 1861 there yet remains upon the plantations a considerable quantity, waiting more peaceful times, and cheaper and safer transportation. It is argued by many that, should the pacification of the country occur during the year, prices must inevitably rapidly recede, as that event would have the effect to bring the currency much nearer the specie basis; but, on the other hand, it is held that in this contingency millions of consumers would at once appear, and the demand thus experienced would quite prevent, for a time at least, any great depreciation in the value of the article.

From these premises, it would seem that the prospect of a demand for sugars of foreign production is at least promising. Since our last annual writing, the Mississippi, the great highway of the West, has been opened throughout its length to the peaceful pursuits of commerce, transportation being thus greatly cheapened, and the supply of Louisiana altogether insufficient for the wants of that section of the country, an increased inquiry for foreign may be reasonably expected from that quarter; the territory occupied by the insurgent population is steadily being narrowed, and the number of consumers thereby rapidly increased. Employment in the loyal States was never so abundant, nor so well rewarded, and though the value of the article is much higher than ever before, the rewards of labor fully keep pace with the increased cost, and if prices do not ascend to prohibitory limits, it would seem probable that the expectations of those who look for a consumption as large or larger than last year, will not be disappointed.

CONSUMPTION OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC CANE SUGAR FOR THE YEAR ENDING DEC. 31.

THE BOOK TRADE.

Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta Family. By Two oF THEMSELVES. M. W. DODD, 506 Broadway.

We do not know who wrote these "Chronicles;" we wish we did, for whenever a book pleases us particularly we naturally turn to the title-page with the benevolent intention of shaking hands with the author, and assuring him of our undying friendship. But here we are disappointed; the author declines to shake hands with a depraved public; preserves a strict incognito, and we feel injured, aggrieved, and somehow as if we had been deprived of our just rights.

Away back in the dark ages, three centuries ago, Elsi's Chronicles of the Family commence; the chapter and the door open simultaneously, and we are introduced to the poor but visionary German father, and printer, who seems to be in a state of abject poverty-unless we except loads of children, of which he has an indefinite number, each of whom he expects will become a KILMANSEGG, when the missing link which is to complete his remarkable invention is discovered. But in the meantime, the wolf stands at the door, and the kind, patient, loving mother continues-like the exemplary but severe woman we used to read of in our childish days-to have so many children she don't know what to do, and, as the KILMANSEGG estate has not yet been divided, it becomes a pretty serious question as to how three hundred and sixty-five mouths, more or less, are to be filled. At this juncture, FRITZ, the eldest son, enters the cloister at Erfurt, with LUTHER as his guide, friend, and counsellor. Henceforth, the story is interwoven with the life of the great reformer, and we follow him through his entire career, till his warfare is accomplished, and he rests beneath the standard he so nobly bore for half a century. The difficulties, the trials, and the dangers which beset the paths of the two monks, as they groped their way from darkness into light, and the genuine, earnest piety which pervades the entire volume, makes it one of great interest, and we hope it will be extensively read.

Amy Carr. By CAROLINE CHEESEBRO. M. W. DODD, 506 Broadway.

This is a pleasantly written story, and entirely safe to put into the hands of a young person. The triumph of right principles and right views over wrong ones, and the sorrow and misery which follow in the wake of crime, are well set forth in the moral, and show that the way of the transgressor is hard, and that virtue is its own reward.

The Life of Edward Livingston. By CHARLES HAVENS HUNT. With an Introduction by GEORGE BANCROFT. D. APPLETON & Co., 443 & 445 Broadway.

We have read this book with great interest, and heartily congratulate Mr. HUNT on his fortunate biographical selection. Beyond the large circle of friends, the life of EDWARD LIVINGSTON has special claims upon the reading public, who will welcome the volume; for his public career is interwoven with our national history. Born while we were yet a colonial dependant of Great Britain, and before our great struggle for a name and a place among nations had even commenced, Mr. LIVINGSTON lived to see the dark clouds which bounded our political horizon dispelled, and the frail bark we had launched, with doubting hearts and trembling hands, upon troubled waters, after its

long, tempestuous voyage, glide safely into port. His birth, position, and talents brought him in contact with all the leading minds of the country. He was the friend and fellow-student of HAMILTON, BURR, KENT, and many others who figure conspicuously in history, and whose names men will not willingly let die. As the brother of Chancellor LIVINGSTON-One of the five who were selected as the committee to prepare our immortal Declaration of Independence-he early became familiar with the political interests of the country, its trials, its difficulties and its needs; and, as a member of the American Congress, served it faithflly and ably for the term of six years. The book is full of pleasant reminiscences of a generation which has passed away, but who, while living, struggled and fought for the country which to-day forgets the debt of gratitude she owes them. Among the distinguished guests Mr. LivINGSTON Was in the habit of meeting at his father's house, was the foreigner and patriot, LA FAYETTE, who seems to have conceived a great regard for him-then a mere youth. As a proof of his interest and attachment, we subjoin the following:

"The chivalric young foreigner produced, at the first, an ineffaceable impression upon the mind and heart of EDWARD, who made the most of his opportunity for cultivating a friendship destined to be as enduring as it was pleasing and honorable. Boy as he was, he was several times permitted to leave school to become a guest of the Marquis at head-quarters. How he succeeded in fixing the interest and regard of LA FAYETTE may be inferred from the fact, that when the latter, at the close of the war, was about sailing for France, he had set his heart upon taking the youth with him, and had exerted himself to overcome the objections which had been interposed by Mrs. LIVINGSTON, who, after reflection, had declared that she felt that her son had work to do at home. He could hardly give up the plan; and when his young friend had accompanied him some distance on the road to Boston, whence he was to embark, he impulsively proposed still to take him along, to assume himself all the dereliction, and to insure a pardon from the mother, to be sued for from France. This strong temptation-for EDWARD's inclination rendered it such-was, with some difficulty, resisted. It is impossible here not to speculate upon the total change in fortune and fate which might have awaited the American boy, involved in the orbit of the young French nobleman, destined first to guide a mighty revolution and then to be absorbed by it. But, though the careers of the two friends were thenceforth to be as distinct as their hemispheres, the younger continued to be the other's 'Dear Edward' for upwards of sixty years,"

Round the Block: an American Novel. With Illustrations. New York: D. ApPLETON & Co. 1864.

The author takes a rather liberal view of life and literature in calling this an American novel, but authors have their privileges, and it is not for us to infringe upon them. We find, moreover, within the book a vast mass of internal evidence which justifies the confident assertion, that the writer is one of those city-born-and-bred men who boast with fond pride that they can tell you every sign on each corner on either side of the way, from Madison Square to the Battery, and that they really do not know a turnep from a carrot. To such a one we pitifully pardon the erroneous notion that three sides of an avenue block constitute America, or all of it that is worth mentioning; we tearfully forgive him for trying to shut out the gentle influences that a good Providence sends to soften the brick-and-mortar severities of city life. Fresh whiffs of the wild sea air do blow up from the great harbor; sweet, soft winds float over from the Hoboken hills or the Long Island gardens; glimpses and breaths of nature struggle down from the Park; and even the market carts bring into the dim streets a reviving proof of vegetable growth somewhere. But round the block we find nothing of this kind; only sidewalks and gutters, grocers, lamp-posts, policemen, and omnibuses; in its fun, in its pathos, in its plot, in its characters, it is unswervingly metropolitan, corporate, and municipal.