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 attempted to impart a popular tone to the Report; and the very few general reflections which I have ventured to offer, are given at its close.

Some works have been noticed for their novelty and interest, others for their practical utility as affecting our native industry, and in some instances the information which I have collected has been directed to convey a general idea of the extent to which particular branches of manufactures are developed, of the conditions, as to management, under which they are carried on, and of the causes to which their flourishing condition is chiefly due.

The accidental absence of principals at the period of my visits, the limited time at my disposal, and my anxiety to embrace as wide a field of observation as possible, have severally constituted impediments where more minute information might have seemed desirable; but whatever may be the defects of this necessarily imperfect Report, I desire to record my sincere acknowledgments for the great courtesy and the kind attention which I received on all hands during my visit to the United States; I am the more bound to do so as the plan which I have pursued has precluded me from mentioning the names of many gentlemen who so greatly facilitated the objects of my visit, by showing me