History of the New York Chamber of commerce, with notices of some of its most distinguished members. An anniversary discourse, delivered before the New York Historical Society, November 21, 1848. 1 0381

cm. HISTORY NEW YdRK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, ¦WITS NOTICES OF SOME OF ITS MOST DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS. 3RSARY : AN ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE, DELIVERED BEFORE THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, /NOVEMBER 21, 1848. BY CHARLES KING.

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NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY. FORTY-FOURTH ANNIVERSARY. At a meeting of the New York Historical Society, held in the Chapel of the Uniyersty, on Thursday evening, Nov. 21,1848, to celebrate the Forty-fourth Anniversary of the Society Mr. James B. Murray offered the following Resolution, which was adopted: Resolved, That the thanks of the Society be tendered to Charles King, Esquire, for the entertaining Disco rse delivered by him this evening, and that he be requested to furnish a copy for publication. Extract from the Minutes. ANDREW WARNER, Recording Secretary.

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DISCOURSE. Mb. President, and Gentlemen or the Historical Societv : In fulfilling the agreeable charge committed to me of addressing this Society at its Annual Meeting, I propose to ask its attention for the brief hour allotted to such occasions, to a hasty sketch of the Origin, Progress and Present Condition of one of the oldest Associations of our city one which, by its connection with many of the stirring events and prominent men of our past history, seems to have a natural alliance with this Society, of which one great object is to perpetuate and elucidate all that pertains to that history. The Chamber of Commerce of New York, is my theme. The date of the Association reaches far back in our young annals, and is older by many years than the Republic, and the Constitution which makes us one people. It was instituted by voluntary agreement of the leading merchants of this city in the year 1768. It is, therefore, antecedent in its origin to the Revolution which emancipated the Colonies. It is a remarkable fact, and one significant of the method and care which are such essential elements in the commercial character, that from the day of its origin until this day, the Records of the Chamber of Commerce have been preserved unbroken and unmutilated, and it is to the Books of Minutes of the Chamber, that I am indebted for very much of whatever may prove attractive in this address. The period in which this Association was formed, was one of deep interest. For several preceding years, the feelings of the Colonists had been deeply roused by the preten-

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384 mr. king's discourse. sion of the Mother Country to impose taxes upon the Colonies the Stamp Act, which was enacted early in the year 1765, had excited the spirit of a people habituated to consider representation as the counterpart of taxation, and who not being represented in the British Parliament, would not consent to be taxed by it. New York took the lead in opposition, and among the persons prominent in that opposition, were several distinguished merchants, whom we shall soon meet with as among the founders and officers of the Chamber of Commerce. The Stamp Act was to take effect on Nov. 1, 1765. But previous to that day, the first Congress of the American Colonies was assembled in this city, on the 7th October, " in opposition," as the journal of the proceedings has it, " to the tyrannical acts of the British Parliament." It concerns not a little the honor of New York, and essentially the renown of the Chamber of Commerce, that the moving spirits who prompted the assembling of this Congress should be identified. It stands as the record of history that the first Congress of the American Colonies a Congress not unaptly characterized as the Egg of the Republic, ovum Republics, was assembled on the recommendation of the Legislature of Massachusetts, and literally this is true. But antecedent to this recommendation, which bears date June, 1765, a Corresponding Committee of the New York Assembly, appointed in October, 1764, had made the proposal for holding a Congress of Delegates, and upon their application the project was agitated in different Legislatures. Although, therefore, the final action took place upon the explicit recommendation of the Massachusetts Legislature, that recommendation was influenced and hastened, if not determined, by the New York Committee of Correspondence. Who composed that Committee, and what relation its members bear to the subject now to be treated, will appear in the sequel. The first measure of the Congress of '65 was a Declaration of the Rights and Grievances of the Colonies, a paper asserting for the Colonists all the rights and liberties of subjects born within the kingdom of Great Britain; among which are the exclusive power to tax themselves, and the privileges of a trial by jury. At this time Lieut. Governor Colden exercised the functions of Governor, and made himself exceedingly obnoxious to the people of New York by his determination to enforce the Stamp Act. The stamps had arrived in a merchant

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MR. KING 3 DISC0UE8E. 385 ship; but finding the exasperation so great, they were transferred from it to one of the ships of war in the harbor, and subsequently for safe keeping to the Governor's house within the fort, which was a place of some strength, and under the guns moreover of the ships of war. ¦ On the 31st October, (Congress then sitting,) the merchants had a meeting, and resolved not to import goods from England. This decisive step first taken by the New York merchants was followed elsewhere, and led to a general non-intercourse. The next evening a large concourse of people assembled in the fields, where the Park now is, and tung the Lieut. Governor in effigy, while another party broke open the carriage house of the Governor, under the muzzle of the guns of the fort, drew forth his carriage, and, tearing up the wooden palings which surrounded the Bowling Green, made a bonfire of them, into which was thrust the carriage with another effigy of the Lt. Governor seated in it to be consumed. It is certainly to be taken as a proof of the unwillingness of Gov. Colden to resort to harsh measures, that these popular excesses were permitted to be consummated under the guns of Fort George, where was a garrison < amply sufficient to sweep the rioters from the streets. These and other demonstrations, however, were decisive. The Governor consented to give up the obnoxious stamps, and on the 5th November, the Common Council, through, their Mayor, John Cruger, received from the Governor all the packages of stamps sent out from England and thus the people triumphed. Early in the next year, 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed, under the influence of the first Pitt, (afterward Earl of Chatham,) and the joy diffused in America by that event caused the people to overlook for a time the declaratory act accompanying the repeal, which asserted the right and power of the Imperial Parliament to bind the Colonies in all cases whatsoever. The delight of the people of New York with the repeal of the Stamp Act was excessive. On 23d June, 1766, the Legislature of the Colony voted that an Equestrian Statue be erected in the Bowling Green to George III., to perpetuate to the latest posterity the deep sense had of his goodness. On the motion of John Cruger, a delegate from the City, and acting under the instructions of his constituents, an appropriation was also made for a statue of Chatham, which was placed in Wall street, at the junction of Wil-

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S86 mr. kino's discourse. liam street, on 7th September, 1770. On the south side of the pedestal was this inscription: * This statue of the Right Honorable WILLIAM PITT, Earl of Chatham, was erected as a public testimony of the grateful sense the Colony of New York retains of the many eminent services he rendered to America, particularly in promoting the repeal of the Stamp Act," A. D. 1770." Neither the statues nor the gratitude of those who erected them, outlived the generation that voted them. The marble statue of Pitt was tumbled from its pedestal, the head was broken from the body, and the mutilated trunk had, until within a few years, been thrown among the rubbish of the public yard of the Corporation. The statue of King George, being of lead, served a better turn. It was broken into pieces during the Revolutionary war, sent up to Connecticut, where, in the family of the late Oliver Wolcott, the ladies assisting, the metal was run into bullets to be used against the troops of the same King George. Eighty-one years ago commenced the existence of the Chamber of Commerce. There are yet living some few very few who were in being with the men that founded this Association; there survive very many of the relatives and descendants of those founders, and for all it will be a natural desire to know who were the merchants of that distant day, that gave form and vitality to a Corporation which has exercised at different times no small influence, not only upon the mercantile character and prosperity of this City, but upon the political destinies of the nation. In deference to such feeling, the annexed extract from the first book of Minutes, is presented, setting forth the names of the founders, the objects proposed to be accomplished, and the rules for the government of the Chamber: * Whereas, mercantile societies have been found very useful in trading cities, for promoting and encouraging Commerce, supporting Industry, adjusting disputes relative to trade and navigation, and procuring such laws and regulations as may be found necessary for the benefit of trade in general." For which purpose, and to establish such a society in the City of New York, the following persons convened on the jirst Tuesday in, and being the 5th day of, April, 1758: John Cruger, Thomas White, Elias Desbrosses, Miles Shebbrook,

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mr. kino's discourse. 887 James Janpey, Walter Fhanklin Jacob Walton, Rob. Ross Waddle, Robert Murray, Aciieson Thompson, Hugh Wallace, Lawrence Kortrigiit, George Folliot, Thomas Randel, Wm. Walton, Wm. McAdam, Samuel Verplanok, Isaac Low, Theophilact Bache, Anthony Van Dam, who agreed that the said Society of Merchants should consist of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and such merchants as already are, or hereafter may become members thereof, to be called and known by the name of The New York Chamber of Commerce. The members present unanimously chose the following officers for this year, to commence the first Tuesday of May next: John Cruger, President; Hugh Wallace, Vice President; Elias Desbrosses, Treasurer; Anthony Van Dam, Secretary. The Society then proceeded to adopt their rules, which, in substance, were.: 1. Society to meet the first Tuesday in every month for the transaction of business, and to establish such rules for the order and good government of the Society as they may think proper and find necessary. 2. On the first Tuesday of May, August, November and February, a quarterly meeting to be held, when all accounts are to be settled and new members be balloted for. 3. Officers to be chosen annually by ballot on first Tuesday of May, and to hold one year. Admission fee of members five Spanish dollars, and quarterly payment of one dollar. Members to be bound to comply with the rules and regulations of the Society, of which entry is to be made in books kept for the purpose,, on pain of being stricken from the list of members. 4. Candidates for admission to give their names to the President on the first day of the month preceding a quarterly meeting, the decision to be by bollot, three nays exclude. A person thus excluded cannot be re-nominated during the term of the President under whom he was excluded, but may be presented afterward. A person three times rejected never to be admitted. 5. Room for meeting to be provided by the Treasurer at the cost of the members, so that the cost do not exceed one shilling for each. 6. The Treasurer to provide a strong chest wherein to SECOND BER1ES, VOL. It. 35

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888 mr. kino's discourse. deposit their cash, books and paper, with three different good locks, the key of one to be kept by the President, another by the Treasurer, and the third by the Secretary; the chest, for the present, to be kept by the Treasurer. 7. Twenty-one members to be a quorum for business, of whom the President or Vice-President always to be one. 8. President to appoint place of meeting. Nothing to be done without him, and he to sign the Treasurer's accounts, and generally superintend the affairs of the Society. 9. The Vice President, in the absence of the President, to have all his power, keep his key, &c. 10 and 11 regulate the duties of the Treasurer and Secretary. 12. Exacts a fine of two shillings for non-attendance at monthly meetings, and four for non-attendance at the quarterly meetings, unless disabled by sickness or absence from the City at a greater distance than six miles. 13. Authorises the President to appoint a Doorkeeper. 14. No new regulations to be made except when proposed at a preceding meeting. 15. President, or in his absence the Vice President, may, on any emergency, call the Chamber together; the hour of meeting to be always six P. M. The following gentlemen, members of the Society, not being present at the meeting, assented to these rules: John Alsop, Henry White, Philip Livingston, James McEvers. From this day forward the meetings appear to have been punctually attended. The minutes are carefully written up, and they uniformly record, not only the names of the members present, but those of the absentees, with the cause of absence; as, for instance, on 3d May, '68, we find this entry of absentees: John Cruger, President, not well. Wm. Walton, Jr., in Connecticut. Wm. McAdam, in the Gout (so recorded.) James McEvers, not well, Phil. Livingston, It was also resolved on that day that the meetings be held at Bolton and Sigel's of which spot I have not been able to find a trace. At the monthly meeting in June, in order to insure punctuality to the hour of meeting, it was determined that a

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889 fine of one shilling be paid by each absentee at the hour of meeting, 6, and the subsequent minutes record regularly the names of those thus fined, as well as the names of absentees. The Chamber already began to occupy itself with subjects of large bearing and general concern. A depreciated currency was at that period one of the evils of the times, and as each Colony issued its own currency, confusion and discredit ensued. The paper currency of Pennsylvania seems to have been particularly objectionable, and a resolution for discouraging its passing in the Colony of New York was only lost by three votes on the 5th July, and subsequently it was referred for consideration whether some method should not be fallen upon " to establish a paper currency in this city." At the same meeting another quite as questionable a proposition was submitted for regulating the price of flour and bread casks. This was, however, so much in harmony with the interests, as was believed, of consumers, and so entirely, as seems to have been assumed, within the competency of the Chamber to control, that at the August meeting " it was unanimously agreed, that from and after the 15th inst. no member of this Society will give more than 25s 6d per ton for flour and bread casks, including nailing." The millers and flour dealers having refused compliance with the terms of this resolution, it was at the October meeting decided by the Chamber to send Mr. Wm. Neilson to Philadelphia, there to purchase from 1,500 to 2,000 barrels of flour to be shipped to New York. Members to be supplied with what they need, and the balance to be sold. At the next meeting, in November, it was ordered that each member pay £50 to Mr. Lewis Pintard, who went to Philadelphia in lieu of Mr. Neilson, toward the purchase of flour the same to be replaced to him out of the sales of flour, the profit or loss to be rateably shared. This vigorous proceeding brought the flour dealers and bakers to terms; a deputation from them attended the Chamber, and after vainly endeavoring to induce that body to reconsider their resolution, and agree to the prices of 28s instead of 25s Gd, the maximum named by the Chamber, the flour dealers gave in, and agreed to charge no more than 25s 6d. The cargo of flour from Philadelphia was nevertheless imported and sold by order of the Chamber, by Mr. Van Dam, their Secretary, who was allowed 2j per cent, commissions.

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390 mb. king's discourse. The subject of damages on Protested Bills of Exchange, received early attention. On 1st November, a Committee consisting of Hugh Wallace, Samuel Verplanck, Isaac Low, Jacob Walton, and John Moore, to whom had been referred the question as to damages on Inland and West India Bills, reported, that for Inland Bills, 5 per cent., and for Bills on or from the West Indies, 10 per cent, damages be paid. The Chamber adopted the Report, and resolved that its members would be governed thereby, and that the " full amount of the bill with the stipulated damages in full for reexchange, cost of protest, postage, &c. " is due and payable immediately on the return of the bill with protest." It was referred to the same committee to enquire and report at the next meeting, as to whether the 20 per cent. " now generally paid" on protested bills on Europe, be " in full compensation ior damages, cost of protests, postage," &c, and whether to be received in money by the holders of the protested bill at the Exchange, current when it shall be returned, or in a bill of exchange with the damage added. At the December meeting, this committee reported that 20 per cent, ought to be paid on European bills, in full for all damages, reexchanges, cost df protest, postage, &c, and that all European bills returned protested, ought to be paid immediately on return of said bill with proper protest, together with the 20 per cent, damages, in money, at the current Exchange in New York, without regard to the Exchange at which said bill was bought or sold. The Chamber unanimously adopted that Report. The subject of Inspection Laws early attracted the notice of the Chamber, and at the December meeting a Report from a Committee was adopted, recommending that application be made to the Legislature, for the appointment of a single Inspector of Flour, and a single Inspector of Ashes, with power to each to name his own deputies, as much more likely to attain the object of all inspection laws, a unilbrm and reliable standard, that under the system then existing, of appointing several Inspectors, between whom, as was well said in the Report, the competition necessarily was, " not who shall inspect the best flour, but who shall suffer the worst to pass inspection." As regarded pot and pearl ashes, it was recommended that they be divided into three classes, 1st, 2d and 3d quality, and that both flour and ashes bear on the cask the brand of the manufacturer's name, and his county, over and above the Inspector's brand.

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MS. king's discourse. 391 It is alleged among the reasons for the severer inspection of flour, that " the wheat brought to this market from Jersey and Maryland is as good, and the wheat from the North River in particular, much better than any carried to Philadelphia," and therefore, that any inferiority of New York to Philadelphia flour " must be ascribed to defect in the manufacture and the present mode of inspection." In 1769 the Chamber, by permission of the Mayor and Corporation, began to hold their meetings in the room over the Exchange, the Chamber to occupy it one year free of rent, they undertaking to furnish the room, and after that to piay an annual rent of £20. The Exchange here referred to was built on arches across the foot of Broad street, in a line with Water street. Under these arches itinerant preachers occasionally held forth. This building was taken down after the Revolution.* At the April meeting in'69, we find the Chamber occupying itself wi^'i regulating the tare on butter and lard firkins, and the quantity that shall constitute a ton of goods. But the period had arrived when political agitation and political action were to find scope in the Chamber of Commerce. The Stamp Act had aroused the spirit of the Colonies, which resolutely refused to submit to taxation by Parlia* ment when they had no representatives. The first Congress of the American Colonies assembled in New York on 9th October, '65, as has been already itated. New Hampshire alone, of all the Colonies, declined sending Deputies to this Congress. None attended _rom Virginia or North Carolina, because the Legislatures of those Colonies were not in session when the circular from the Massachusetts Legislature was addressed to the other Colonies. All the others were represented. The Delegates to this Congress from the State of New York were Robert R. Livingston, John Cruger, Phil. Livingston, Win, Bayard and Leonard Lispenard of whom, all but R. R. Livingston were at the time, or afterwards became, members of the Chamber of Commerce. In proportion, therefore to the influence exercised by this Congress upon subsequent events, and upon the fortunes and liberties of America, may honor be claimed for the Chamber of Commerce, which furnished four out of the five Delegates from the State of New York, in that Con-« gress. Watson's Annals, p. 72, Ancient Edifices.

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392 mr. king's discourse. Of its acts, mention has already been made. In the course of the year '69, Parliament passed an act imposing duties1 on tea, paper, glass, &c, professedly for revenue, and not with a view to regulate Commerce. The Colonies resisted this act as they had resisted the Stamp Act, and upon the same ground. As the most effectual mode of defeating this new scheme of taxation, associations were immediately entered into by Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, for the non-importation of goods from Great Britain; and in the course of this and the ensuing year, like associations were formed in all the Colonies, and the popular feeling everywhere gave effect to the measures. The Assembly of the Colony of New York partook of and approved this popular feeling, for we find in the minutes of May 2, 1769, the following entry: " The President reported that the Honorable the House of Assembly, had directed him to signify their thanks to the Merchants of this City and Colony, for their patriotic conduct in declining the importation of goods from Great Britain at this juncture and until the acts of Parliament, which the Assembly had declared unconstitutional and subversive of the rights and liberties of the people of this Colony, should be repealed." A committee consisting of Messrs. Desbrosses, Alsop, Low, Kortright, McAdam and W. Franklin, was named to report an answer to the Assembly, which was done at the same sitting. it so happened that on this occasion the President of the Chamber of Commerce, John Cruger, was also Speaker of the Assembly, and this explains the form in which the thanks of that body were conveyed to the Chamber. Mr. Cruger, who was the first President of the Chamber, and served two years, was conspicuous both as a politician and a merchant. He was born in this city, in July, 1710 the son of John Cruger and Maria Cuyler. The father was Alderman of Dock (now First) Ward for twenty-two years, and subsequently served five years as Mayor of the city, and died in that office in 1744. The son, John, of whom we are treating, followed in the footsteps of his father served as Alderman of Dock Ward for two years, and in 1755 became Mayor of the city, and continued in that office ten years being still Mayor when, in 1765, he was chosen Speaker of the Assembly, as above stated. While thus doubly honored as Speaker of the Assembly of the Colony, and Chief Magistrate of the city of New

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MR. king's discourse. 893 York, he1 was also constituted, as we have seen, Delegate to the first Congress; and it is of record that he and Robt. R. Livingston were the moving spirits of that delegation. The same individuals had constituted the Committee of Correspondence appointed by the New York Assembly in '64, to whose suggestions we have ascribed the determination of Massachusetts to invite the assembling of the Congress of '64. To the pen of John Cruger, is due the " Declaration of Rights and Grievances of the Colonies" put forth by that Congress; and it is clear, from the circumstance of his constant reelection as Speaker of the Assembly, that he enjoyed the highest favor among his countrymen. His name does not appear on the records of the Chamber after May, 1775 whence it would seem to follow that he left the city when it fell into the hands of the British. He died in 1792, unmarried. His brother, Henry Cruger, was father of Col. Cruger, of the British service, Henry Cruger the colleague of Burke in the British Parliament, and Nicholas Cruger an eminent West India merchant of this city, and under whose auspices the boy Alexander Hamilton came hither from Santa Cruz. To return to the Chamber. \ At the meeting in May, '69, a resolution was passed, which, if it had been duly carried out, might have led to a record of commercial cases, and the decisions thereon by the Arbitration Committee, which would now constitute a body of commercial law and usages of great value. It was decided that " all committees do report at the next ensuing sitting of the Chamber such differences between parties as they may have adjusted, with the names of parties and the sums awarded, together with the opinions to the end that the same be entered on the minutes always provided both parties consent thereto." Another proposition was adopted at this meeting, that the Chamber have an annual public dinner absentees therefrom to pay five shillings each. Both these usages have fallen into disuse 'both might be advantageously and agreeably revived. l he Chamber was occupied with regulating the rates of commission for transacting different sorts of business, the value of gold and silver coins, &c. &c. The minutes of 7th Nov. present a reply by David Rit-tenhouse and John Montresor to a request by Mr. President Cruger that they would calculate the latitude of the Battery which they make out 40° 42' 8".

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394 mb. king's discourse. On 15th Feb. 1770, the Chamber, through their President, addressed a memorial to the acting Governor, C. D. Calden, for an act of incorporation. At the April meeting, the Charter granted by the Lieutenant Governor, was received, read, and accepted. The Chamber ordered that 20 guineas be paid to the Attorney-General " for his services in perfecting the Charter." Under this Charter the first election for officers, held "on the first Tuesday (2d) of May, resulted thus: Hon. Hugh Wallace, President. Hon. Henry White, Eltas Desbhosses, Vice-Pres. A, Van Dam, Secretary,. Theoph. Bache, Treasurer. The great trouble of the time was a depreciated and irregular Paper Currency, and the circulation of various foreign gold and silver coins, which were clipped, sweated, and otherwise diminished in value. To meet this in part, in Aug., '70, it was, on motion of Mr. Isaac Low, resolved that the members of this Corporation would henceforth pay and receive the half-Johannes weighing 9 dwts. at £3 4s>, and for every grain over-running they would pay three pence, and for every grain short they would deduct 4 pence. John Cruger dissented from this resolve as one tending to impair the value of the currency, and claimed to have his dissent entered on the minutes, which was done. A curious and rather inconvenient practice obtained at this time of entering upon the minutes the reasoning of members in favor of any proposition made by them. Thus on the minutes for Nov. '70, there is a long argument by I Low, in favor of a plan he suggests for improving the quality of the New York Flour, " the grand staple of this Colony." He ascribes the superiority of the Philadelphia flour to its being ground with French burr stones, which the New York millers did not use, and therefore he desired that the Chamber should import ten or twenty pair of French burr stones, to be sold at cost only to New York millers. It being ascertained soon after that there were some on the way, on private account, the suggestion was not pressed, but the argument stands on the records. Lord Dunmore having arrived in New York, as Governor, in December, ^70, the Chamber of Commerce, through their

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me. king's discourse. 395 President, made an address of congratulation to him full of expressions of loyalty to the sovereign, George III. On the proposal of Wm. Walton, the Chamber voted, in May, '71, that Lieut. Gov. Colden be asked to sit for hi» portrait for the Chamber, to be hung up in its room, in token of their gratitude for the Charter of incorporation granted by him. At the annual dinner this year, as Lord Dunmore, with all the chiefs of the departments, was to dine with the Chamber, absent members were required to pay eight shillings apiece toward the cost of the entertainment. Of Hugh Wallace, the second President of the Chamber, we have not been able to gather much information. Two bi others, of Irish origin, Hugh and Alexander, were in partnership as merchants both married sisters of Nicholas Low, of this city, and both embraced the English cause when the Revolution broke out remained in the city while it was in the possession of the British troops, and retired with them from the country. The successor of Hugh Wallace in the Presidency was Elias Desbrosses, in 1771, who served one year. He was of Huguenot descent amassed a very large estate and died in the city, bequeathing his wealth to his daughters, the one of whom married John Hunter, of West Chester, and the other Capt. Overing, of the British Army, but who resided until bis death in this city. Mr. Desbrosses was Alderman of the East Ward for ma-> ny years, and one of the founders and liberal benefactors of the French Episcopal Church of St. Esprit, in this city » the original edifice standing in Pine street and 3 liberal contributor towards the support of its Charity School. He was a Vestryman of Trinity Church from 1759 to '70, and Warden from '70 to 78. While Mr. Desbrosses was President of the Chamber, Governor Tryon arrived as the successor of Lord Dunmore, who was transferred to Virginia and the most lavish expressions of loyalty were addressed on the part of the Chamber to the new Governor. In May, '72, Hon. Henry White was chosen President. This title of Honorable, as applied to members of the Corporation was derived from their being members of the Governor's Council. Capt. Isaac Sears, withdrew from the Association in August, '71, because of the resolution adopted at a previous meeting fixing the rate at which Jersey paper money should be received and paid by members of the SECOND SERIES, VOL. II. 36

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396 MR. KING'S DISCOURSE. Chamber. In October following, thirteen other members of the Chamber, Roosevelt, Duyckinck, Hoffman, Beekman, Gouverneur, Lispenard, and others, withdrew from the Chamber for the same cause. In 1773, the House of Assembly granted to the Corporation £200 per annum for five years, in order to the encouraging of a better supply of fish to the New York Markets. The Chamber accordingly offered a first and second premium, varying from £40 to £45, for the boat or vessel that should in a given time supply the market -with the largest quantity of codfish, sheepshead, mackerel, or any other fish except skate and ray. In May, '73, Theophilact Bache was chosen President. In the following month a most affectionate and eulogistic address was presented by the Chamber to General Gage, Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces in North America, on occasion of his return to England. The address runs thus: " May it please your Excellency " When we review your conduct as Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces, and reflect on the happiness derived to this Colony from your eminent justice, from the discipline and good order of the army, and your constant attention to secure to North America the solid effects of a series of victories so glorious to the British arms; when to these we unite your engaging manners and polite and obliging deportment, we feel, in common with the rest of our citizens, the liveliest sentiments of esteem and respect for a character so truly valuable. " We are persuaded, Sir, that as you take with you the deserved applause of the Colonies, and the cordial affection of the inhabitants of this city, long honored by your immediate residence, so your zeal and fidelity in the discharge of a trust the most important, will recommend you to the favor and approbation of our most gracious Sovereign." General Gage replied in terms not less cordial. "I have," said he, " lived long among you, and happily with you and your fellow-citizens. It is natural I should leave you with regret and concern, and I beg you to believe that I carry with me sentiments the most friendly to the Colonies, in general, and the warmest wishes for the prosperity and happiness of the inhabitants of New York." This was in June, 1773, only three years before the Declaration of Independence; less than two years before the

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mr. king's discourse. 397 battle of Lexington, which opened the war of the Revolution, and only fifteen months before the meeting of the Congress of '74, which assembled in September of that year in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, in which Hall, in July, '76, was signed and proclaimed the Declaration of Independence. These reminiscences derive the more point, in this connection, from the fact that Gen. Gage was, in '74, sent out to Massachusetts as Governor of that Colony, after the withdrawal of the odious Hutchinson, and that it was under his orders that the detachment of troops which brought on the conflict at Lexington, was sent from Boston to destroy certain military stores at Concord. In January, '74, the Chamber was obliged to recede from the ground it had taken on the subject of" the paper money of New Jersey, which must have been the principal circulating medium of the city at that time. In consequence of the resolution of the Chamber, that its members would neither receive nor deal in it, at the current rate, the resignations of members were so numerous, in order to avoid the obligation of this resolve, and the attendance of others so negligent, that no quorum could be formed. On motion, therefore, of R. C. Livingston, it was resolved, " that the members of the Chamber be at liberty to receive and pay Jersey money as it formerly passed," and then, on motion of Mr. Charles McEvers, all the members, who had resigned on account of the question, were invited to present themselves anew to be balloted for as members. In May, '74, William Walton was chosen President, and on the same day an address was voted to Governor Tryon, on his return to England not less affectionate, eulogistic or loyal than that to General Gage and Gov. Tryon's reply is equally full of professions of interest for the Colony, with that of general Gage. Of the three last-named Presidents, let us pause to present brief sketches. " Hon. W. White was a member of the Governor's Council, an Englishman by birth, and largely engaged in trade. He was faithful to his allegiance, and sided with the Mother Country against the Colonies. There are descendants of his of the third generation now living among us, maintaining, as he always maintained, an upright and honorable character. Theophilact Bache, who was chosen President in 1773, was also of English birth, a native of Lancashire. He

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398 mr. kino's discourse. came to this country about 1755, being just of age, and soon after married Miss Barclay. His mercantile pursuits were chiefly with the West Indies and Newfoundland. He was also agent of the British packets, which used to ply between Falmouth and New York. He is remembered as a fine specimen of a gentleman courteous, hospitable, with a touch of the sportsman, loving his gun and his dog, and everywhere acceptable as a polished and agreeable companion. He died in this city in 1806, after being for a third of a century one of the Vestry of Trinity Church. Win. Walton, who was chosen President of the Chamber in May, 1774, was a native of this city, as is believed, son of Jacob Walton and Mary Beekman, his wife. He was extensively engaged im commerce as a partner in the house of Wm. Walton & Co., of which his uncle, Wm. Walton, commonly called Boss Walton, was the head, until his death in 1768. Wm. Walton, in 1757, married Mary, the daughter of Jas. Delancey, some time Chief Justice and Lieut, Governor of the Province, and acting Governor in 1753, and again from 1757 to 1760. His career as a merchant was prosperous and honorable, and his social position was among the most respected in the land. He was, in com' mon with almost all the leading men of the day, opposed to the invasion of the Colonial rights by the Government of the Parent Country, and shared in the measures first adopted for a peaceful and Constitutional redress, but in common, too, with a great many of the foremost of his fellow-citizens, he could not approve of the armed resistance to the royal authority; and when actual war broke out, he retired from the city to his country residence in New Jersey. There, however, he was unable to remain, and re-entered the city, then under British rule, thereby subjecting to confiscation bis Jersey estate. He remained within the lines during the war and it is recorded of him that, unsoured by the loss of property confiscated because he could not side with what he looked upon as rebellion and only mindful that he was born an American, he exerted himself to alleviate the horrors to which his countrymen, prisoners to the British in New York, were subjected. He continued to reside in New York, though no longer engaged in business, till his death in 1736 leaving behind him a good name .and many regrets. Among his children was Jacob, who entered the British Navy, and is well remembered, doubtless, jby many who hear me, as a resident during the latter pe-.

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mr. kino's discourse. 399 mod of his life in this city, where he died in 1844 having attained the rank of Rear Admiral of the Red. The Chamber of Commerce had offered, as we have stated, a bounty or premiums for bringing fish to the New York market. This was awarded in July, 1774 Peter Parks receiving £30, for having brought 800 live Cod to market for six months from 1st Nov. to 1st May, and Robert Hartshorne £20, for having brought 456 sheepshead to market during the year from May, 1773, to May, 1774. From July, 1774, to May, 1775, no quorum seems to have been formed; the minutes record the names of the few who, on the stated monthly day of meeting, appeared but no business was transacted until the annual meeting, 3d of May, 1775, when the officers were to be chosen. Isaac Low was elected President, and John Alsop and Wm. Me Adam, Vice Presidents; Charles McEvers, Treasurer, and A. Van Dam, Secretary; but from that day until June, 1779, the Chamber was never assembled. On Monday, 21st June, 1779, the President, Isaac Low, at the request of many members, summoned a meeting of the Chamber, and the following persons appeared: ISAAC LOW\ President. A. Van Dam, Secretary, Wm. McAdam, Vice President. Wm. Walton, Gabriel H. Ludlow, Isaac Corsa, William Stepple, Robert Murray, Henry White, Jno. Moore. Benj. Booth, Wm. Laight, Alexander Wallace, Thos. Buchanan, Robt. R. Waddel, Wm. Seton, Richard Yates, Thomas Miller, Gerard Walton, Edward Laight, Augustus Van Horne, Hugh Wallace, Lawrence Kortright. The meeting addressed a letter, signed by all the above, to the Commandant of the city, Lieut. Governor Daniel Jones, Esq., thus explaining the objects of their assembling: " We beg leave to inform your Excellency that the subscribers are members of a society known by the style and title of the Chamber of Commerce, which before the present unnatural rebellion, assembled under certain regulations," &c. &c. The immediate motive for re-assembling is in the same letter stated to be " The increase of Commerce encouraged by the procla-

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400T me. king's discourse. mations of H. M. S. Commissioner, together with the success of private ships of war." The Lieut. Governor approved very highly of the re-assembling of the Chamber, and at a special meeting 12th July, the Superintendent of the City, at the request of Major General Patterson, asked the cooperation of the Chamber in some efficient scheme, for cleansing the city and keeping it clean, adding that the barracks, military hospital and other public buildings should be subjected to any plan agreed upon. The Chamber was also asked to express its opinion as to the expediency of regulating the price of butcher's meat, and the markets generally. The Chamber, through a Committee, made a very sensible reply. It may not be without interest even now to hear what they said. After complimenting the Commandant on the readiness evinced by him to cooperate in remedying a state of things complained of by every one, the Chamber says: "Although the business does not come within the proper sphere of the Chamber of Commerce, as not appertaining to trade, they very cheerfully accept the task." They recommended therefor no new plan of cleaning the streets, but simply the due execution of that formerly in practice under which, they say, " the city was once as remarkable for its cleanliness, as it is now for the contrary." What the plan was, is not stated, but briefly that the Corporation ordinances concerning it, only need to be revived and enforced, and made applicable, where, heretofore, the military authorities had refused " to the barracks, military hospital* &c." ''¦ Very different," says the report," has been the former practice relative to these public buildings, for notwithstanding repeated remonstrances, it seemed to be the opinion that nothing further was necessary than to throw the straw and dirt into the middle of the street, and leave it to the inhabitants or scavengers to remove it, in any way they pleased." To a proposition that scavengers be employed, whose remuneration should be chiefly from an exclusive right to remove the dirt, &c, from the streets, for their own use and profit-r-it is said in the report that objection was made by some person in power " that it would interfere with the common right of mankind, because every person who pleased had a right to take dirt out of the streets, an hypothesis," fitly adds the Report, " in our idea founded nei-jther in reason nor in fact."

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mr. king's discourse. 401 As to regulating the price of butcher's meat," experience," says the Report, "justifies our apprehension that the remedy may prove worse than the disease." It is suggested, however, as likely to induce to good results that the time of keeping open markets be limited, and that between the months of April and October no meats, vegetables or poultry be exposed for sale after 10 o'clock, A. M., and not during the remainder of the year after 11 o'clock, A. M., (Saturday evenings always excepted.) And further, that no fresh provisions, (fish excepted,) vegetables or poultry be put into stores or cellars, on penalty of confiscation for the benefit of the Alms House. But although the Chamber discouraged any attempt to regulate the price of butcher's meat, this same Report suggests that cartmen's wages are too high, and should be reduced one-third. During the whole period of the occupation of the city by the British, viz.: from 1776 to 1783 the Chamber seems to have cooperated very zealously with the British authorities, naval and military; and they on their part seem to have relied very much upon the influence and exertions of the Chamber to render their rule of the city easy and acceptable. The Chamber was at that time thoroughly in the interest of the Mother Country, and in its votes of thanks to officers, civil, naval and military, it always speaks of the Americans as rebels, and the war as unnatural. Very many, however, of the members left the city, and were absent during the whole period of its occupation by the British. Mr. Isaac Low, as above noted, who was. chosen President in May, 1775, called the Chamber together in 1779; and its sittings under his Presidency, he being annually re-elected, are carefully entered on the minutes. From 6tb May, 1783, however, to 20th January, 1784, no> meeting is recorded. At the latter date the Chamber met, Gerard Walton, Vice1 President, presiding, the President, Isaac Low, having re-.-tired with the British when they evacuated the city on November 25th, 1783. Isaac Low, nevertheless, at the commencement of the con-troversey between the colonies and England had sided with' the colonial cause but he desired, like so many others, and believed, that the dispute might be amicably adjusted and without severing the bonds which united the two countries-Isaac Low was an American born, as were his forefathers. The first of the family in this country was Cornelius. Low, who was bora in Kingston in 1670. His son. Corne-

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402 me. king's discourse, lius was born on the 31st March, 1700, in this city. In 1729, he was married to Johanna, daughter of Isaac Gou-' verneur, in whose veins ran the blood of Leisler, the first victim to arbitrary power in this colony. Isaac Gouver-neur was a descendant of Abraham Gouverneur, a French Huguenot, who married the widow of Milbourne ; she was-the daughter of Leisler Milbourne having been executed with his father-in-law on the IGth of May, 1691. la April, 1731, Isaac Low was bora at Raritan Landing, a short distance above New Brunswick, in New Jersey. He married a younger daughter of Cornelius Cuyler, many years-Mayor of Albany, under the Provincial Government. He is spoken of as an upright, able magistrate a thorough loyalist, and was father of the late Sir Cornelius Ouylery Bart., and Lieutenant-General in the British army. Of Mr. Isaac Low, we find this mention on occasion of his marriage, in Mrs. Grant's " Memoirs of an American Lady." " The elder sister had married Augustus Van Cortland of Cortland's Manor. The younger sister, equally admired, though possessing a different style of beauty, more soft and debonaire, with the fairest complexion, and most cheerful simplicity of aspect, was the peculiar favorite of her aunt Schuyler, (the American lady,) above all she now took charge of. She, too, was soon after married to the esteemed patriot, Isaac Low, revered through the whole continent for his sound good sense and genuine public spirit. He was indeed happily tempered, mild and firm and was finally the victim of steadfast loyalty." As already stated, at the commencement of the disputes between England and the Colonies, Mr. Low sided with his native land, and being at once able and popular, he was chosen one of the Committee of Public Safety, and a Repre--sentative "from the city to the Congress of 1774. But as the quarrel became exasperated, and the necessity was forced upon him to choose between what he conceived to be duty and loyalty, and the independence of the Colonies, he decided, like so many other conscientious men erroneously as seems to us but honestly, and to his own great detriment, for the cause and claims of the Mother Country. Under such influences, he was a most useful and serviceable friend to the British while the city of New York was1 in their occupation and as President of the Chamber of Commerce, during that whole term, used its authority and influence to advance the cause of the Mother Country,

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MS. KING'S DISCOURSE. 403 ¦while mitigating as far as depended on him the calamities of such a state of things, to his own countrymen, prisoners in New York. His younger brother, Nicholas Low, born on the Raritan in 1739, took the opposite side espoused warmly the American cause was honored as one of its Counsellors by repeated appointments to public office, and died in this city, in 1826, at the good old age of 87 honored of man, and at peace with Heaven. Isaac Low retired with the retiring British Army from the land of his birth, and resided in England till his death in 1791, leaving an only son, Isaac Low, a Commissary General of the British army, now living near the village of Lyndhurst, in the New Forest, Hants. At the first meeting of the Chamber, after the evacuation of the city, many names were proposed for admission of men who had been absent during the war, and some oi them in the public service of America. The next meeting was on the 20th April, 1784. This was called under a law passed by the Legislature of the State of New York upon the petition of many members, who dissented from the course of the Chamber while the city was in the occupation of the British, and were advised, that the charter was by misuser forfeited, and therefore required a new sanction from the new State. This memorial, and the names appended, constitute a historical document of no small interest; therefore it is embodied here: " New York, April 20, 1784. " The arbitrary and tyrannical conduct of Great Britain towards the late Colonies, (now States of America,) having been such as to compel the people of these States to have recourse to arms for the defence of their liberty and property, and the invasion of the State of New York, having driven the inhabitants of the city to the cruel necessity of leaving their houses and property and to retire into the country, the exercise of the rights and privileges of the chamber were in consequence of the war suspended from May 3, '75, to July 6th, '79, when a number of the members assumed the exercise of the powers contained in their charter, under the patronage of the British Commanders ; and the influence of the chamber having been manifestly directed to aid the British in subjugating these States, a number of the members and othi r citizens, on their return to this city, taking into consideration the state of the chamber, and being advised by counsel that the charter of the said SECOND SERIES, VOL. II. 37

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404 mr. king's discourse. - chamber had been forfeited and lost by reason of the misuser and nonuser of the same, they thought it most advisable to petition the Legislature for a confirmation of the said charter in consequence of which resolution, a petition was presented by the following persons: Samuel Broome, Nath. Hazard, George Embree, Jeremiah Platt, Thomas Hazard, Gerakdus Duyciunck, Jno. Broome, Akm. R. Lott, Cornelius Ray, Benj. Ledyard, Abm. Duryee, Anthony Griffiths, Thomas Randell, Wm. Malcolm, Thomas Tucker, Robt. Bowne, Jno. Alsop, John Berrian, Daniel Phenix, Isaac Sears, Isaac Roosevelt, Jacob Morris, James Beekman, John Franklin, Eliphalet Brush, Abm. Lot, John R. Kipp, James Jarvis, Comfort Sands, Henry H. Kipp, Jno. Blagg, Joseph Blackweli., Arch. Currie, Win ant Van Zandt, Joshua Sands, David Currie, Stephen Sayre, Lawrence Embree, Jonathan Lawrence," Jacobus Van Zandt." The Legislature taking the same into consideration, granted the prayer of the petition, and did on the 13th April pass a law entitled " An act to remove doubts concerning the Chamber of Commerce, and to confirm the rights and privileges thereof," in consequence of which law the meeting as above, first was called. The first care of the meeting was to choose its officers, who were: John Alsop, President; Isaac Sears, Vice- President ; John Broome, Treasurer ; John Blagg, Secretary, but he being abroad, D. Phoenix, was appointed pro tem. Col. Malcolm, Comfort Sands and Daniel Phoenix, all of whom now appear for the first time for they had been out during the British occupation were appointed a committee to report by-laws for the government of the chamber. In the above list of members appears the name of Jonathan Lawrence and we pause for a moment on this gentleman's history, as furnishing an instance of the pecuniary sacrifices made by the Whigs, who were driven into exile. Though differing in its details from other cases, it may be present-

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mr. king's discourse. 405 ed as a sample of the many. We may almost say, " ex uno disce omnes." At the age of thirty-four years, Jonathan Lawrence retired from this city, to a seat at Hell-gate, on the banks of the East River, in his native town of Newtown, (L. I.,) with a competent fortune derived from mercantile pursuits and from inheritance. Although unambitious of political distinction, and having everything to hazard on the issue, he entered earnestly into the agitating public questions which a few years after became the absorbing topics. He was a member of the Provincial Congress of 1775-6, as well as of the Convention of 1776-7, which formed the first Constitution of this State, and was the only attending member from Queens County while that Constitution was in progress. By an ordinance passed simultaneously with the constitution, the Convention appointed Lewis Morris, Pierre Van Cortlandt, John Morin Scott, Jonathan Lawrence, William Floyd, William Smith, of Suffolk, Isaac Roosevelt. John Jones and Philip Livingston, to be the Senators from the Southern District of the State while in possession of the enemy. Mr. Lawrence filled this post throughout the war. Besides discharging many other public duties requiring discretion, firmness and energy, he, in 1778, embarked at Black Point, in New Jersey, in the fleet of Count D'Estaing, as a volunteer, on what proved to be the fruitless expedition against Rhode Island. In 1775, the Provincial Congress appointed him to be Major of the Brigade commanded by General Woodhull, and he was connected with the operations, in 1776, of that gallant martyr. By him he was despatched to the convention at Harlaem, who in their turn sent him to General Washington at Brooklyn, for reinforcements which had been promised, but which it was found could not be spared. During these transactions, the capture and dastardly butchery of General Woodhull took place, preceded by the battle which left Long Island at the enemy's mercy. In this absence of Mr. Lawrence from home, his house was taken in possession at night by a marauding party of British soldiers. Amusing them with refreshments in the kitchen, Mrs. Lawrence and two female relatives, then on a visit to her, with the assistance of the female servants, aroused Mr. L.'s five infant children, (the oldest nine years of age,) from their beds, and abandoned the house with all ils contents, except such few articles of clothing, plate and valuables as they could hastily and quietly secure. Being silently and speedi-

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40(J MR. KING'S DISCOURSEJ. ly conveyed by a faithful slave in a boat across the river* they on the next day reached Mr. Lawrence at Harlsem, from w-hich place the convention had just adjourned to Fish-kill. Having encountered during more than seven years of exile the many difficulties and privations to which his blighted fortune subjected him, he, on the conclusion of the peace pf 1783, returned to the city of New York, and in his forty-seventh year, abandoning legislative life, and collecting the very few remaining fragments of his former property, he began the world again. The next meeting was on the 4th of May, the day specified in the charter for the choice of officers, when the same persons named at the preceding meeting were again chosen.. Henceforth the meetings of the chamber went on in the usual course, and were occupied with the ordinary cases of the business of the city. At the August meeting the French Consul, Mr. St. John, informed the chamber by letter that his M. C. M. for the encouragement of American commerce to China, had ordered that the ships and vessels of the United States should enjoy the privilege of putting into the Isles of France and Bourbon, where they will find every protection and liberty they may stand in need of. The newly established Government of the United State* stood greatly in need of revenue; and the State of New York, in order to contribute its proportion to the general fund., and for its own necessary expenditures, passed an import law which, however, was too frequently violated by smugglers. The consideration of this matter was brought before the chamber, on motion of Mr. James Beekman, and was referred to a committee, consisting of the Vice President. Sears, Jacob Morris and James Beekman, who, at the subsequent meeting in October, 1784, reported the following-resolution, which was unanimously concurred in, and ordered to be published in the newspapers. Rnsnhed, That the members of this Corporation do solemnly engage and promise reciprocally to each other that they will, by every means in their power, be aiding and assisting to prevent the scandalous practice of smuggling, and will give information of every violation of the laws which may come to their knowledge, so that the offender may be publioly known and punished; and they do most earnestly request and recommend to their fellow-citizens that they unite with tbena in this so necessary and laudable engagement.

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mr. king's discourse. 407 It may be said with entire truth, and with proud satisfaction that this honorable testimony of the early merchants of New York against the scandalous practice of smuggling has been practically borne out by their successors, even to this day, and that among no commercial people are the demoralizing habits of smuggling less encouraged, or more universally contemned, than among the merchants of this metropolis. At the close of a long and bloody war, the States, struggling against depreciated paper currency at home, found themselves exposed in their commerce on the high seas, and especially with Great Britain and her remaining colonies, to vexatious and harassing depredations and regulations. Accordingly at the meeting in February, 1785, we find a Committee appointed to memoralize the State that it might represent to Congress " the depredations made on the navigation of the United States by the Algerines, and the restrictions laid on our trade by the British and other nations, and the unfavorable state of our commerce at large." An address was also made by the chamber to the Continental Congress, testifying the respect of the chamber for that body, and their confidence in its wisdom expressing regret that "the present condition of the city, which, through the whole course of the late war, has been devoted to the rage of British power, in many respects, deprives its citizens of the means of gratifying their cordial wishes, which we can assure your honorable body are to render your residence among them convenient and agreeable." Going on to express their conviction that Congress would take all proper measures for the advancement of commerce, the address thus emphatically concludes: " Because, until our national flag be rendered respectable, and our public credit established, the inhabitants of the United States can but partially enjoy the great blessings of liberty and peace for which they have so successfully contended." At the annual meeting on the first Tuesday (3d) of May, 1785, John Alsop addressed a letter to the chamber, which is entered on the minutes, pleading a long and severe attack of the gout, as an explanation of his absence from the board, and that and his advancing years, as reasons for declining; to be considered a candidate for re-election. John Alsop, it will be seen, was chosen the first President after the restoration of New York to the American forces. He had been absent from the city during the whole British

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408 mr. kino's discourse. occupation. He was the first Vice President chowiT at the iast May meeting held in 1775, before the British rule in the city commenced. After that he never met with the Board till that rule had ended, and until the Legislature of New York, free and independent, had re-sanctioned the charter of the chamber. John Alsop could not, without being false to bis blood, prove false to freedom. Born in this land, he sprang from & soldier of Cromwell's in arms against oppression Capt. Richard Alsop, who came to America to take po»se*sion of a, considerable estate near Newtown, L. I. left him by an uncle. He married into one of the Dutch families of Long Island, and he was the great-grandfather of the John Alsop of whom we are now speaking. His father, John, was born on Long Island, 1697, was a lawyer of repute, and settled at New Windsor, he subsequently removed with his family to this city and practiced law until his death in 1761. He was buried in Trinity church-yard, leaving two sons, John and Richard, both of whom applied thenjselves to commerce. Richard, who was a clerk in the house of Philip Livingston, removed at an early age. to Middletown,Conn., and died there in 1776. John remained in New York and became a successful and opulent merchant. He was a man of large stature, fine presence, and great intelligence. His early political bias, and it never changed, was lor his native country; yet he did not look without dread upon a forcible separation from the mother country. Submission to her unjust claims he never dreamed of, but he did hope and strive to bring about by peaceful means an adjustment of the controversy, which, while honorable to us, would be beneficial for the home government. He was high in the confidence of his iellow-citizens, and on the 25th of July, 1774, he was elected by them one of the delegates of the Congress to be held in Philadelphia. He had illustrious colleagues, Philip Livingston, Isaac Low, James Duane, and John Jay. Decisive as this step appeared, yet did not the Congress throw away the scabbard. The addresses they issued to the British nation, and yet more expressly that made to the King, spoke of loyal attachment and of the hope and desire that all difficulties would be removed. Nor was the Congress or Legislature of the Province at all prepared for separation from the mother country. Opinion then, indeed, was not as far advanced as at the Philadelphia Congress, for when the President of the State Provincial Congress,

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mr. king's discourse. 409 the gallant Gen. Woodhull, moved that the thanks of the House be given to the Representatives of the Province for their servipes in the Continental Congress, the motion was lost, 9 Ayes, 15 Noes. Mr. Alsop was now fairly launched in the public councils, and in 1776, he, with his associates in the Congress of 1774, (except Isaac! Low,) was again sent to the Continental Congress, and at the same time they were chosen members of the Provincial Congress. The Provincial Congress, still halting between two opinions, had confined the instructions to their delegates in the Continental Congress to means of reconciliation with England. Up to this period very few persons in New York had thought seriously of independence. A hope still lingered and was cherished that the ties of language, laws and lineage would be strong enough tQ hold together the two countries, and that redress to America might be obtained without separation from England. The Provincial Congress, as we have seen, partook of this feeling, and at any rate did not look upon themselves as authorized to shake off allegiance to Great Britain and change the form of government without the direct assent of the people. On the 27th May, 1776, therefore, a proposition, was carried in that body that in view of the present circumstances of the country, a convention be chosen by the people to decide upon the proper course to be adopted, and meanwhile that they, the Provincial Congress, would only exercise such powers as were clearly delegated to them. While the Provincial Congress was thus hesitating, the Continental Congress had already broached the subject of Independence^ and on the 28th of June, 1776. the New York delegates wrote as follows to the Provincial Congress s " Your delegates have expected that the question of Independence will very shortly be agitated in CongFess. Some of us consider ourselves as bound by our instructions not to vote on that question, and all wish to have your sentiments thereon. The matter will admit of no delay. We have, therefore, sent an express, who will await your orders." This letter was read, as the journals state, with closed doors. The original instructions to their delegates empowered them only to consent to and determine on such measures as should be " effectual for the re-establishment and preservation of American rights and privileges, and the restoration of harmony between Great Britain and the Colonies." With such power, it is clear they could take no efficient part in the deliberations for Independence. John Jay and others

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410 me. king's discourse. of the delegates went home to ascertain the views of the I eople and Congress of New York but still no new instructions were given to them, nor sent to the. delegate* who remained in Philadelphia. Yet matters pressed. Sir Wm. Howe arrived at Sandy Hook on the 25th June, and three days afterward was joined by all the fleet and forces from Halifax. The Provincial Congress invested Gen. Washington with full power, and and on the 30th retired themselves from New York to White Plains. A second letter now came from the delegates in the Continental Congress inclosing a draft of the Declaration of Independence reported on 28th June. On 2d July another letter was despatched by the delegates, Mr. Livingston and Mr. Alsop the other two, Mr. Jay and Mr. Duane, being in attendance on the Provincial Congress stating their great embarrassment for want of instructions. Every other colony but New York had given their delegates positive instructions to vote for independence, or left them free " to act according to their own judgment. As for themselves, their hands were tied; they could vote neither one way nor the other. What shall we do ? say they Retire, of remain ?- and if remaining, shall we vote or not ? Our situation is-singular and delicate. We wait, then, your earliest advice* and instructions, whether we are to consider our Colony bound by the vote of the majority in favor of Independence, Once possessed of your instructions we will use our best endeavor to follow them." No new instructions were given, notwithstanding these urgent appeals, and of course the old instructions stood, and Independence was declared without the vote of New York. Mr Jefferson, in his correspondence referring to this occurrence, says: " The delegates from New York declared they were for it themselves, and were assured their constituents-were, but as they had no authority by their instructions, they thought themselves not justifiable in voting on either side, and asked leave to withdraw from the question, which was granted." The President of Congress, John Hancock, in a letter dated 6th July, communicated to the Provincial Congress of New York a copy of the Declaration of Independence, adopted on the 4th. The House immediately, on the Otb July, went into consideration of it, and unanimously passed this resolution: ** That the reasons assigned by the Continental Congress

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mr. king's discourse. 411 for declaring the United Colonies free and independent, are cogent and conclusive ; and that while we lament the cruel necessity which has rendered the measure unavoidable, we approve the same, and will, at the risk of our lives and fortunes, join with the other Colonies in supporting it and that the delegates of this State in the Continental Congress be and they hereby are authorised to consult, and adopt all such measures as they may deem conducive to the happi* ness and welfare of the United States." The sudden change of feeling indicated by the unanimous adoption of this resolution, from a state of hesitation, doubt and inaction, to such a degree as to leave unanswered the urgent appeals of their delegates for instructions, may be explained in part, possibly, by the consideration that the step was taken irrevocably by the Continental Congress, and that there was no longer room therefore for deliberation or dissent.* However that may be, John Alsop felt himseli slighted by the course of the Provincial Congress, and in a letter to that body, dated Philadelphia, 16th July, he thus gives vent to his feelings: "Gentlemen: Yesterday our President read in Congress This seeming inconsistency is explained in the following extract, which shows that the body which declared New York an independent State was a different one from that which hesitated to give instructions to their delegates in Congress. Extract from the Lift of General Nathaniel Woodhvll, in Knapp's American Biography, page 375. « On the 28th August, 1775, Gen. Woodhull was elected President of the Provincial Congress, and held the same office in the body that succeeded it in 1776. Doubting its powers to conform to the recommendation of the Continental Congress, by erecting a new form of government to the exclusion of all foreign control, the Provincial Congress, on the 31st May, 1776, recommended to the electors of the several counties, to vest the necessary powers either in their present members, or in others to be chosen in their stead. The British army having, on the 30th June, appeared off the harbor of New York, the Provincial Congress, on its adjournment that day, directed that the Congress in which the new powers were vested, and which was to assemble on the 8th July, should meet at White Plains. They did not in fact assemble until the 9th July, 1776, when Gen. Woodhull was chosen President. " The Declaration of Independence, passed on the 4th instant, had not received the unanimous approbation of the Colonies in the Continental Congress, the delegates from the Colony of New York having declined to vote, because, although they were personally for the measure, and believed their constituents to be so, they were fettered by instructions drawn nearly a twelvemonth before, when the hope of reconciliation was- yet cherished. Immediately on their meeting, the new Provincial Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration, (Gen. Woodhull presiding.) on the part of the People of New York; thus filling the void occasioned by the want of the necessary powers in their delegates at Philadelphia. On the next day they assumed the title of ' the Convention of the Representatives of tht Stale of New York,' and subsequently formed the first Constitution efth» State. iECOND SERrES, VOL. II. 38

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412 mr. king's discourse. a resolve of your honorable body, of 9th inst., in which yon declare New York a free and independent State. I cannot help saying I am much surprised to find it coming though this channel. The usual method hitherto practiced, has been for the Convention of each Colony to give their delegates instructions to act and to vote upon all and any important questions. And in the last letter we were favored with from your body, you told us you were not competent or authorised to give us instructions on the grand question; nor have you been pleased to answer our letter of 2d inst. otherwise than by your resolve transmitted to the President. I think we were entitled to an answer.'' This is the expression of natural and manly indignation at an unmerited slight. Mr. Alsop concluded this letter by declaring that it was against his judgment and inclination that the door of reconciliation with Great Britian should be closed, and therefore tendered his resignation as a delegate to the Continental Congress. This was accepted; and here terminates Mr. Alsop's political life. The city of New York being now in possession of the British, with whom his country was at open war, Mr. Alsop hesitated not at all as to his course ; for he was thoroughly a Whig, although not yet believing in the unavoidable separation of the two countries but abandoning his property and large mercantile interests in New York, he withdrew to Middletown, Ct., where resided his brother Richard, and remained there till the evacuation of the city in 1783. He was then chosen President of the Chamber of Commerce, as has been already stated, and resumed bis mercantile operations, and was a large and fortunate underwriter, before the era of incorporated insurance companies. Mr. Alsop lost his wife in 1773 leaving him with an only child, a daughter, who was married in the year 1787 to Rufus King, then a Delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, sitting in New York. Mr. Alsop survived till 1795, when he died in the full possession of his faculties, though at a very advanced age, with a reputation unstained, and amid the general respect. The following officers were chosen by the Chamber of Commerce at the May meeting in 1785 after Mr. Alsop's declining a re-election : John Broome, President; Wm. Constable, 1st Vice President; Paschall A. Smith, 2d Vice President ; Joshua Sands, Treasurer; Adam Gilchrist, Jr., Secretary.

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mr. king's discourse. 413 A special meeting was held on Monday the 16th May, to consider of a circular letter from Boston of 22d April, signed by John Hancock and several other merchants, which enclosed Resolutions passed by the people of Boston in town meeting on 16th April. The letter sets forth the alarming si uation of our commercial intercourse with Great Britain, "the necessity of a commercial treaty between the two countries, as from want of such a treaty, and the foolish predilection of too many of our citizens for the manufactures of that nation, we are principally subjected to the inconveniences we now experience." The letter farther sets forth that by reason of the rigorous execution of her navigation acts, by the discouragements of all sorts thrown in the way of American exports, and of American navigation, no remittances other than in cash can be made for the merchandise imported, thus producing a general complaint of the want of a sufficient medium to answer the ordinary purposes of life. The only effectual remedy for this evil state of things, is in the words of this letter: "the vesting Congress with full power to regulate the internal as well as external commerce of all the States," and it therefore calls upon the chamber for an immediate application " to the State to vest such power in congress (if they have not already done so) as shall be competent to the great and interesting purpose of placing the commerce of the United States upon a footing of perfect equality with every other nation;" and farther " to petition congress (when they shall be vested with such authority) to make such internal regulations as shall have that happy effect to encourage attention to our manufactures, and remove the embarrassments under which trade at present labors." The Chamber of Commerce wisely deeming that this was a subject too large to be deliberated upon or decided by their single corporation, resolved to call a public meeting of all the citizens, at the City Hall, on Wednesday, 15th June, and requested the President of the chamber to attend and explain the objects of the meeting. No report from the President of the result of this public meeting, is entered upon the minutes, nor is there any farther allusion to it. The minutes of 3d January, 1786, present the memorial of Christopher Collis to the Chamber, asking their aid to an enterprise he meditated, and which had received encouragement from the Legislature no less than connecting the City

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414 mb. king's discourse. by artificial navigation with the lakes the germ of the Erie Canalf The memorial runs thus: " Your memorialist has formed a design of opening an intercourse with the interior parts of the United Sta tes, by an artificial inland navigation, along the Mohawk River and Wood Creek to the great lakes a design which must evidently extend the commerce of this city with exceeding rapidity beyond what it can possibly arrive at by any other means; a design which Providence has manifestly pointed out, and which, in the hands of a commercial people, must evidently tend to make them great and powerful; and which, though indefinite in its advantages, may be effected for a sum perfectly trifling when compared with the advantages." The memorialist adds that he had applied to. and received encouragement from, the legislature that he had examined the ground " at the Cohoes, the Little Falls, and Fort Schuyler," and found that no considerable difficulty existed; finally, that he had secured " a number of respectable gentlemen as subscribers," and asked for the countenance and subscription of the Chamber of Commerce. That body returned an answer to Mr. Collis that they entertained the highest ideas of the utility of his scheme, wished it all success, but that as a corporation they had no funds. This was in January, 1786, little more than two years after the evacuation of the city and indicates, under the circumstances of prostration and discouragement in which the commerce, currency and resources of the country were, at the close of the war, the remarkable spirit of enterprise and sagacious looking into the future, which forty years later had its full scope and fruition in the completion of the Erie Canal. The Legislature, at its session in the beginning of the year 1786, having under discussion a scheme for issuing Paper Money, and making it a legal tender, the chamber, on the 28th February, adopted a memorial setting forth the evils and immorality of such an issue, and caused copies thereof to be circulated for signatures all through the city. It is a most able memorial, setting forth, in the clearest light, the evils of such a course. A single extract is quoted to show the vigor of thought and of style in which the paper is written. " Without attempting a discussion of the subject at large, your memorialists respectfully beg leave to submit a few remarks which to them appear unanswerable.

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me. king's discourse. ' 415 * 1st If the paper emitted should stand on such a basis as to render it in the public estimation equal to gold and silver, the intervention of legislative authority to enforce its reception must be unnecessary. If it should not stand on such a basis, that intervention would be unjust and indefensible on any principle of morality or public utility. " It would be by law to enable the debtor to defraud his creditor. " It would be by law to give the property of one set of men to another. " It would be by law to involve creditors in ruin, in order to save debtors from distress. " It would be by law to undermine all the principles of private credit, private faith, and private honesty. " If it Were to be admitted in its fullest extent that many debtors will be ruined, what interest has the State in substituting one set of ruined men to another set of ruined men ?" The whole memorial is couched in like terse and forcible language, and seems to have excited quite a commotion in the legislature, for they refused to print it and when it was up next day, and was read as part of the minutes, that portion of the minutes was ordered to be obliterated. The truth was too reproachful to be permitted to stand. ¦As it may possibly interest some readers to know the exact course which this matter took in the legislature, I have thrown into a note, explanatory extracts from the journals of the legislature, kindly looked up for me by the Assistant Librarian of the Hist. Society, Mr. Geo. H. Moore.* At the Annual Meeting of May, '86, John Broome was Neglected President. In the Assembly, Jan. 21,1786. Mr. Paine moved for a Committee of one 'from each County to devise the best method ior emitting a paper currency, and for considering and reporting means and measures for discharging the public debts. Carried and Committee app. (12.) Journal, p. 15. Committee reported on Feb. 4. Bill ordered, &c. &.c.,for emitting £200,000 in bills of credit of this State. Same Com. with the addition of two new members. Bill reported and read Feb. 6. Feb. 7. Referred to Com. of the Whole House. Progress reported Feb. 10. Feb. 11,13, 14, 15,16,17,18, 20, 21, 22. (Petitions rec*d and referred to the Com.) 23. (Harper's amendment making the bills a legal tender in payment of all debts and contracts, &c, rejected) 25. (Same amendment reconsidered and negatived, and Mr. Schoonmaker moved the clause in the act No. LX, (see below,) which was adopted,) 28, March 1. March 2d. A Memorial of the Chamber df Commtrce wag read. Reference

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¦416 mr. king's discourse. As exemplifying manners at this early day, it may be mentioned that in the minutes of 30th June is this entry: " The President produced a letter from Chas. Thomson, Secretary of Congress, informing the Chamber that there would be a public levee at the house of the President of Congress, from 12 to 2 o'clock on the 4th July." The matter was referred to a Committee, and they reported, and the Board resolved that the Chamber of Commerce should meet and proceed as a distinct organization to the levee. On 13th February, '87, it was resolved that " Such merchants being citizens of this State as were members of this corporation, antecedent to the confirmation moved to the Committee above and negatived. Motion to enter it on the Journal, voted down. March 3d. Memorial being read as a part of the Minutes, ordered to be obliterated. Memorial referred to a Committee of Five, Messrs. Boyd, Troup, Livingston, Havens and Pell. March 3d. Committee on the Bill having informed the House of their readiness to report, Mr. Gardner moved a postponement of consideration of the Bill till the Committee on the Memorial should report, which motion did not prevail. Mr. Gordon then moved to strike out the Section LX. (See below) negatived. Mr. Troup then moved that the Bill be rejected negatived. Bill ordered to be engrossed. March 4th. Mr. Gordon moved a resolution to order the Printer to the State to print in his paper the Memorial, &c. not allowed. i March 6th. Engrossed Bill read a third time and passed. Sent to Senate, &c. Senate. March 7th. Bill received from Assembly and ordered to a second reading. March 8th. Committed to Committee of the Whole, and with it the Memorial and Petition of the Chamber of Commerce, and a Petition of 600 inhabitants of the city of N. Y., &c. &c. Progress reported March 10,13,14. (Memorial of Merchants, &c.) 15, 16,23, 28, 29, (question whether the money emitted should be a tender, decided in the negative,) and Section LX. amended, &c. &c. Sent to the Assembly for concurrence in amendments. April 1st. Bill returned from Assembly various amendments, not concurred in, and the Senate receded from all but two, and on April 6th. They came to an agreement, &c. Session Laws, 9th Session. 1786. An Act for emitting the sum of Two Hundred Thousand Pounds in bills of credit, for the purposes therein mentioned. Passed the 18th of April, 1786. Sect. LVJI. Gold and silver and the bills emitted by this Act only to be received for duties by the Collector. Sect. LX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the bills of credit to be emitted by virtue of this Act, shall be a legal tender in all cases when any suit is or shall be brought or commenced for any debt or damages, and the cost of suit, in any stage of the proceedings thereof provided always, that nothing in this Act shall extend to contravene any treaty between the U. S. of America and any Foreign State or Power.

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mr. king's discourse. 417 of the charter by a law of the State of New York, passed 10th April, '84, shall be and hereby are admitted and declared to be members thereof provided that they respectively attend the chamber at a stated meeting and signify their consent to be considered members on or before the first Tuesday in June next." This was a peace-offering to those who, having remained in the city during the British occupation, had, after the close of the war, been looked upon with averted eyes. At the meeting in June, of this year, it was resolved that the members of the chamber would dine together, on the 4th July, at Bradford's Coffee House and that such other citizens as might choose, be invited to unite in the dinner. " Fifteen shillings for each," says the report recommending this patriotic dinner, " would, with economy, probably be adequate to the expense of the entertainment." Prices as well as times and men have changed very considerably since then, and 40s. or $5, is now about the lowest mark for like festivals. At the September meeting a revision of the By-Laws was discussed and adopted. Also regulations respecting damages on Bills of Exchange, commissions on business, quality and weight of Goods, &.c. Among the By-Laws then adopted was one to the effect that any member of the corporation refusing to submit to the Arbitration Committee, or other members of the chamber, any matters of account which they may be concerned in, be expelled the chamber. A motion to reconsider this resolution was made by Gen, Malcolm, at the December meeting, and lost. The chamber occupied itself with all the subjects of interest to commerce, and occasionally went farther, as at the September meeting, 1788, they resolved, " That the President, in behalf of the chamber, wait upon his Worship the Mayor, to request that the corporation-would be pleased to fit up and repair the City Hall in such: a manner as to make it convenient as possible for the reception of Congress, which is to meet in this city in March next." At the next meeting in October an additional resolution: was passed, which, after setting forth the great advantage to the city and state, that Congress, should meet in New York, required the chamber to make efforts with the legislature for the passing of a law that the expenses incurred in providing for the accommodation of Congress be a charge against the State.

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418 ME. KINOES DISCOURSE. It has been noticed in a preceding part of this memoir, that in grateful remembrance of Lieut. Governor Colden's ready compliance with the request of the founders of the Association that he would grant to it an act of incorporation, a picture of the Lieut. Governor was painted for, and at the expense of, the chamber. On the 1st February, 1790, Vice President Murray notified the chamber that this picture, in good preservation, was in hands which were willing to restore it to its owners; whereupon the president was requested to write to the person indicated, and ask for its restoration. It was, accordingly, restored to the chamber in May, 1793, by Cadwalla-der D. Colden, Esq., son of the Lieut. Governor, and ordered to be framed. The Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. P. M. Wetmore, whose zeal and intelligence in all he undertakes, are not less prized by this Society, of which he is an honored and most useful member, than by the Chamber of Commerce at my request furnished the curious information concerning this picture, and other objects valuable to the chamber, embraced in the annexed letter: New York, November 20, 1848. My Dear Sir : In reply to your note asking for any information of interest relating to the Chamber of Commerce, I will state as briefly as possible one or two incidents which may be deemed worthy of notice in your proposed discourse. When I entered upon the discharge of my duties as Secretary of the chamber in 1843,1 received a single volume of minutes of its proceedings, and could not learn on inquiry of my predecessors that any previous volumes were extant. Possessing something of an antiquarian disposition, I was not content to believe that the history of so ancient an incorporation could be imperfect. After diligent inquiry, and tracing the affairs back through a number of years, \ was so fortunate as to find in a lumber box at a store in Front street the two volumes of early records now in your possession. They form a complete series from the organization of the institution, in 1768, to the present time. A short hiatus occurs at the close of the Revolution, and it is probable that no sessions pf the chamber were held during that period. While occupied in my search for the missing records, I accidently learned that in the garret of a store in Coffee

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mr. king's discourse. 419 House slip (I am quite sure that you will sanction the use of that old, familiar designation, rather than the more modern one of Wall street,) were to be found two large frames supposed to be the property of the chamber. Upon removing the canvass covering and the coat of mildew and dust within, i had the great satisfaction of discovering two fine historical portraits. The injuries resulting from long exposure and a few accidents were soon repaired, and these fine pictures now occupy prominent positions in the gallery of the Historical Society, where they were deposited for safe custody by authority of the chamber. The portrait of Lieut. Governor Cadwallader Colden, the Executive officer of the Colony of New York at the period of the incorporation of the chamber, is by an artist of the name of Pine, whose history is unknown to me. The other is unquestionably the best full length portrait extant of Alexander Hamilton. It is a production of great merit, and bears evidence of being from the hand of Trumbull, and yet no mention is made of it in Dunlap's work. If it be Trum-bull's, it is certainly one of his best portraits. I have not been able to find any allusion to it in the minutes. . These pictures are remembered as having been conspicuous ornaments of the room occupied by the chamber in the old Merchants' Exchange, and were saved from the flames when that building was destroyed, in the great conflagration, on the morning of December 16th, 1835. Whenever the merchants of New York shall evince enough of public spirit to provide a suitable building for the accommodation of the chamber, and thus secure a local habitation for so ancient and honorable an association, the custody of these fine paintings will doubtless be resumed. They should be regarded as the beginning, only, of a gallery of portraits illustrating our history as a commercial people. The seal of the chamber, which I send to you with this, is an interesting memorial of past times. It is of massive silver, about three inches in -diameter, and was made in. London. It bears date 1770, the year of the Society's incorporation. The purity of the latin motto Non Nobis Nati Solum has been questioned by graduates of the later schools. Whether justly so or not, you can determine better than L* * The latinity of this motto could only seem questionable to those who mistook the word Solum for a substantive) instead of an adverb, as it is here " Not born for ourselves alone," is a very fitting motto, in very good latin for an incorporation of merchants. SECOND SERIES, VOL. tl. 30

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420 mr. king's discourse. A somewhat curious story attaches to this seal. Some years after the Revolution, a gentleman interested in the? affairs of this country, in looking through a sort of curiosity shop in London, where a miscellaneous collection of personal effects was displayed to catch the eye of a purchaser, fortunately discovered this signet of the Chamber of Commerce of New York. He immediately secured the valuable estray, and with commendable patriotism restored it to-the proper custody. I regret that I am unable to give you his name. If access could be had to the papers of the late^ John Pintard, for many years Secretary of the Chamber a thorough antiquarian in feeling and practice, many authentic and interesting details relating to this and other incidents belonging to your subject, would doubtless be found. It was the habitual occupation of Mr. Pintard to record everything of this nature, and his diary must be rich in historical details. If I mistake not, Anthony Van Dam, who was the first secretary of the chamber, and continued to hold the officer until the close of the revolution, went to England among the royalists expatriated at that period. He became, I believe, an agent of the underwriters at Lloyd's. Is it not fair to suppose that through some inadvertency of his, as he was the legal custodier of the article, our seal found its way to London, and after his death, into the hands of the dealer in second-band wares ? There was a tablet to the memory of Van Dam erected in one of our city churches, (St., Paul's, I think,) by Mr. Pintard. In my search for objects of interest connected with the past history of the chamber, my attention was naturally directed to the original charter, granted by Lieut. Gov. Col-den in the name of His Majesty George III., and which I knew had been in existence some few years previously. Every effort in my power was made at the time, and has been continued since, but as yet without success, for the recovery of this interesting link in our historical chain. There is a bit of history, also, connected with this old charter. Some five-and-twenty years ago, Admiral Walton, of the British Navy, succeeded by inheritance to the property of his family in this city; and on taking possession, among a vast accumulation of miscellaneous lumber, boxes, baskets and chartsi articles of domestic economy, dragoon saddles and Hessian muskets, in the spacious attic of " Walton House," in Pearl street, was found the original charter of the Chamber of Commerce. It wa& very large,

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mr. king's discourse. 421 about three feet in width, with the massive waxen seal of the crown, six inches in diameter, attached, and the whole carefully encased in tin and enclosed in mahogany. The Admiral immediately made known the discovery to Mr. Pintard, who took possession of the document. Secretary Van Dam was known to have been an intimate friend, probably a relative, of the Walton family, William Walton had once been president of the chamber. These facts may account for the situation in which the charter had been found, and we must therefore believe that this instrument had lain undisturbed in the recesses of Walton House for the period of nearly half a century. On the night of the great fire, the mahogany case containing the charter was -seen in the room occupied by the chamber, at the Exchange. As everything portable was supposed to have been removed from the building before its destruction, I indulged for some time a confident hope of being able to recover the old charter. In this, I regret to say, I have been disappointed. If it was saved from the fire, it has ever since been so carefully guarded that ^he most diligent research has not been successful in tracing its whereabout. Like the old seal, it may yet turn up in some unexpected manner, and then our memorials of an existence of fourscore years will be complete. I am persuaded that you have found the subject in your hands one of deep interest, and I rejoice that the rise and progress of the commerce, 1^he intelligence, enterprise, integrity and patriotism of those who have given name and character to our community, are hereafter to be matters of history, and not merely of tradition. I wish you may be able to infuse into the great body of our merchants something of that true esprit de corps which had so often given power, and influence, and honor to commercial communities in other countries. Why should not measures be taken for an annual commemoration of the founding of our institution, and thus assurance be given to those who come after us, that civil conquests, won by the zeal and enterprise of former generations, have not been unnoticed or forgotten 1 I am, dear Sir, With true respect and regard, yours, PROSPER M. WETMORE. Charles King, Esq., &c. &c, New York. The Pilots of New York seem, at this early day, to have

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422 ¦ mk. king's discourse. given trouble and dissatisfaction, for at the meeting in December, 1791, a committee was appointed to inquire into the present regulations and conduct of the pilots belonging' to this port. At the next meeting this committee reported, and the chamber, accepting their report, resolved that " the president be requested to forward it to the members of" Congress who represent this State, soliciting their influence to have the spirit thereof introduced into any law which maybe brought forward for the general regulation of pilots." This is interesting at this time as bearing upon a questiori now agitated with apparent seriousness^as to the constitutional right of Congress to regulate pilotage., Here is a contemporaneous exposition of that right, within two years after the adoption of the constitution, and an appeal to it from New York, in order to remedy the evils of pilots under the State. In May, 1793, the hour of meeting of the chamber was changed from 6 to 7 P. M., on the first Tuesday of each month, and the fines for non-attendance were abolished. At a special meeting on the 24th July, 1793, a Committee was appointed to procure subscriptions in aid of the fugitives from St. Domingo, who, flying from that Island in consequence of the disasters and horrors of the servile war, had arrived and were arriving in the United States. At the August meeting resolutions were adopted by the chamber and ordered to be published, in favor of the duty of preserving neutrality in the war then going on. At the May meeting in '94, the annual election coming on, there was a tie vote for president, 17 each, for John Broome, who had been annually reelected from 1785, and (Guliaa Verplanck. On a second ballot Mr. Verplanck was elected. He shortly afterward appeared in the chamber, and, thanking his associates for the honor, declined the office. Mr. Broome in like manner acknowledging the obligations conferred upon him by previous repeated elections, declined being a candidate again, and then Mr. Comfort Sands, 1st Vice-President, was elected. A unanimous vote ,of thanks to Mr. Broome was passed " for his peculiar and unremitted attention to the business of the chamber during his long administration as president." It may be surmised that the bitterness of party strife, which at the period in question was running very high, and when the French revolutionary tunes of Ca ira and the Carmagnole were the occasions of almost as much passion ,and prejudice in .our streets, and houses, and home.s, as in

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MR. KING7S DISCOURSE. 423 France led to the contest between Messrs. Broome and Verplanck, or rather between the friends of these gentlemen, for each of them evinced perfect self-respect and self-denial on the occasion. John Broome, the seventh president of the chamber, and who was annually reflected from '85 to '94 was of English parentage but American birth. His mother was of the old Huguenot family of Latourette. He studied law with Gov. Livingston of New Jersey, but was induced by an elder brother, Samuel Broome, to renounce the Bar for Commerce, and accordingly he went into partnership with that brother as an English Importer* before the revolution. After a time, however, he carried on business on his own account, and acquired both wealth and reputation as a merchant. Before the commencement of the war, Mr. Broome married a Lloyd, of Lloyd's Neck. He was a zealous whig during the Revolution, and stood manfully by his country through all the trying scenes of that trying war. In 1775, he was a member of the Committee of Safety, and in '76 was a member of the Provincial Congress, which was forced to remove from the city by the inroads of the British forces. He abandoned, as did so many other whig merchants, their business and residence in New York, while it remained in the British occupation, and removing to Connecticut, devoted his means and energy to fitting out privateers against British commerce. With the return of peace, he resumed his residence in New York, and it is a proud tribute to his honored name to state, that he was among those citizens who, after the close of hostilities, paid in full, principal and interest, the debts he contracted in England before the war, and which too many considered abrogated or outlawed by that war. Mr. Broome was for several years an Alderman of the city; in 1784 he was appointed City Treasurer ; and in the same year he became president of" the Chamber of Commerce. He was also president of the New YoFk Insurance Company, the first institution of the kind incorporated by the State. Mr. Broome espoused the anti-federal side in politics, and was chosen in 1800 a Member of the Assembly from this city, and with his colleagues, General Gates, Henry Rutgers and George Clinton, contributed to the «lection to the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. In 1801 he was appointed one of the Commissioners of Bankruptcy

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424 mr. king's discourse. under the Act of 1798 -and in 1804 he was elected Lieutenant Governor Morgan Lewis being the Governor. Mr. Broome was re-chosen successively for six, years, buf died before the expiration of his term, in August, 1810, in the 72d year of his age. Mr. Broome's life, career and character are among those which the Chamber of Commerce may refer to with pride, as of one belonging for many years to their honored association. Comfort Sands, who succeeded Mr. Broome in the presidency, and held that station for four years, from '94 to '98, was a native of Long Island, and born at Cow Neck, in February, 1748. He entered early into a counting house, and as soon as of age, commenced business for himself just one year after the first institution of the chamber. He had already acquired considerable fortune when the war of the revolution broke out. He was a sterling whig, and embraced the cause of his native land with zeal and courage. He renounced his residence in New York, was a member of the Provincial Congress in '75 and '76, and in the latter year was one of the Committee of Safety. While the Congress were at White Plains in '76, Mr. Sands was, after the Declaration of Independence, appointed on the 24th July, Auditor General of the State of New York, and he continued in that office until 1781, when other avocations, induced him to resign it. Mr. Sands then became a contractor for the supply of provisions for the American Army, and in 1783, at the peace, entered into business with his brother Joshua, and for several years pursued his business as a leading merchant. He was- repeatedly sent to the Assembly from the city was a Director of the Bank of New York and was everywhere regarded as an intelligent and opulent merchant. Reverses, such as the most prudent cannot always escape, overtook him and the remainder of his life was passed in retirement. He breathed his last at Hoboken, in September, 1834, at the good old age of nearly 87 years. On the 9th of May, '94 with the laudable solicitude for peace, of which enlightened commercial men are always the advocates of peace with honor the chamber unanimously adopted resolutions on occasion of the appointment by Washington of John Jay, as Minister to England. We quote only one: ¦" Resolved, That if nevertheless this Embassy should fail to preserve ta us the blessings of Peace, yet we persuade

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mr. kino's discourse. 425 ourselves it cannot fail to convince all nations of our justice and moderation, to unite our own sentiments and ef~ forts, and render an appeal to arms more honorable to n» and more formidable to our enemies." This is the language of genuine patriotism and wise statesmanship and must, when published, as it was ordered to be, have produced a great impression. The political preference of the chamber, however, was plainly indicated by the resolution adopted on the 2d of January, '95, that the chamber will pay for the gunpowder expended in celebrating the election of John Jay as Governor of the State, to whiph high office he was chosen by the people, while on his voyage home from his successful embassy to Great Britain. A special meeting of the chamber on the 21st of July, '95, was convened to consider the subject " which particularly agitated the public mind, the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, between the United States and Great Britain." The Minutes say, " this meeting was the most respectable ever held in the Chamber of Commerce, (upwards . of seventy members being present.) After the Treaty was read, resolutions approving thereof were adopted with only ten dissenting voices." Neither the Resolutions, however, nor the Yeas and Nays are given. The next entry is a sad one. No business was transacted except the appointment of monthly committees, in August, September, October and November, owing to the prevalence of the dangerous fever. About 700 persons, mostly foreigners, died during that period. At a special meeting in April, '96, a bill for the protection of American Seamen, then before the Senate of the United states, referred for the opinion of the chamber drawn by Rufus King, one of the Senators in Congress from. New York was unanimously approved, and directed to be-returned, with that vote, to Mr. King. A proposal for an accurate general survey of the sea-coasts of the United States, was at the same meeting transmitted to Edward Livingston, a Representative in Congress-from New York, in order to be laid before the House of Representatives. In March, '98, the chamber petitioned Congress to fortify the Harbor, in view of the critical state of our foreign affairs, and they, deputed Col. Ebenezer Stevens, a member of the chamber, to'proceed to Philadelphia for the purpose of

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426 hb. king's discourse. giving the necessary information to Congress respecting th& fortifications of the city and port. A Memorial to a like effect was also addressed to the Legislature** Col. Stevens, at the next meeting, reported in writing the result of his mission, which had so far succeeded a& to induce a committee of Congress to recommend an appropriation of $117,000 for fortifying the harbor; but Col. Stevens expressed doubts whether Congress would act upon this-recommendation. The difficulties between the United States and the French Republic, were becoming daily more and more menacing, and accordingly the chamber unanimously adopted, in August, '98, the report of a committee approving the neutral policy adopted by Washington, at the commencement of hostilities in Europe, and the repeated overtures made by the then president, John Adams, for an amicable adjustment of our misunderstanding with France. That report concluded with this resolution. . " But, estimating our rights as an independent nation far above any considerations of inconvenience which may attend the means of maintaining and preserving them, " Resolved, That We will zealously support such measures as the wisdom of the Government may dictate, and demonstrate by our unanimity that all efforts to divide us wilt be vain." About forty members were present at this meeting. The-resolutions were forwarded to the President of the United! States, who returned an immediate answer, a copy of which* is spread on the minutes, expressing his satisfaction withf this proceeding of the chamber. At the annual meeting in May, '98, John Murray was chosen president. From the month of August until the month Of December,, no meeting of the chamber was held, by reason of the prevalence of the yellow fever, which made its appearance about the 28th of August. The transactions of the chamber for the next year were few and unimportant; the meeting* frequently failing for want of a quorum. In 1799 the yet-low fever again prevailed, and from July to December there1 was no meeting of the chamber. A special meeting of the chamber was convened on the-26th of December, '99, to consider of some appropriate mode of testifying regret for the irreparable loss sustained by the nation in the death of George Washington; and Archibald

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mr. king's discourse. 427 Gracie, Wm. Bayard and Jonathan H. Lawrence, were named as a committee on behalf of the chamber, to confer with other committees appointed by citizens, and with full power to make all necessary arrangements. The year 1800 was a very blank year, according to these Records few meetings were held, and little done at them, and during five months, from June to October, both inclusive, no meeting at all was held. The February meeting, 1801, records long complaints about various schemes for amending the Inspection Laws, especially of Pot and Pearl Ashes. There was also renewed complaint about the pilots, and a committee was appointed to enquire what alterations were requisite in the regulations for the pilot service. The year 1801 was hardly less barren than its precursor, no quorum having been formed after June until Feb., 1802, when a memorial was unanimously adopted by the chamber against the repeal of the Judiciary Act, (the act known in the partizan jargon of the day as the act creating Midnight Judges.) The memorial was ordered to be sent to the President, and a copy, through Dr. Mitchell, representative in Congress from the city to the House of Representatives. No meeting was again had till May, when the officers were to be chosen. John Murray was reelected for the fifth time in succession. The pilots were again complained of for neglect of duty, and a formal report against them was made at the June meeting, and, by order of the chamber, handed to the wardens of the port, with a request that they would remedy the evils. No meeting again till December, when a committee was again appointed to devise a more punctual attendance of the members. At the commencement of 1803, Congress had under discussion a bill for repealing all discriminating duties on foreign ships, and on merchandise imported therein. The chamber took the alarm, appointed a committee to prepare a remonstrance against a measure so fraught with evil to our rising navigation, and adopted, unanimously, the memorial, which sets forth, in facts and logic irresistible, the impolicy and mischief of the proposed repeal. During the residue of this year there were few or no meetings. Indeed it seemed the established custom, since the fever of '98, to intermit all meetings of the chamber during the summer months. On the 7th of February, 180*, a quorum was formed, SECOND SERIES, VOL. II. 40

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428 me. king's discourse. and measures were taken to act in concert with the city Corporation and Health Officer, to devise a Quarantine system, to be submitted for the sanction of the Legislature. A whole year elapsed without another meeting of the chamber. On the 29th of February, 1805, a special meeting was had, of which the pilots again furnished one of the motives; and a committee was appointed to devise measures for remedying the complaints. It was also resolved to give a public dinner to Capt. Preble, just then returned from his gallant exploits before Tripoli, for which he received a gold medal and the thanks of Congress. A meeting in May, 1806, was held for the choice of officers, when on the declining of Mr. Murray, Cornelius Ray was chosen president. Mr. John Murray was a native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch descent. Early in life, (in the year 1758,) he became a citizen of the State of New York, and so continued until his death. His pursuits were exclusively commercial, and successively he conducted the concerns of Mr. John Murray, Murray, Sanson & Co., Murray & San-son, and John Murray, through a period of nearly fifty years, and with good success, in an extensive importing and commission business. He was remarked for prudence and discretion, as far as possible removed from hazardous speculation, though possessed of ample means. He claimed and supported a character unimpeached and unimpeachable, and enjoyed the confidence and consideration of the mercantile community. He was well experienced in the customs of merchants, and though without a professional education, he was so well versed in the law of Marine Insurance, as connected with the customs of merchants, that his opinions were highly appreciated, as was manifested by public confidence in his decision as arbitrator on Insurance cases, which occupied a considerable portion of his time. He had no ambition for political advancement, which he might have attained if he had yielded to the solicitations of his friends. He served as Governor and Treasurer of the New York Hospital, almost from the first foundation of that Institution. He was Director in the Branch of the United States Bank in this city. 'He was a worthy member of the Presbyterian Church, and died in 1808, leaving a reputation without reproach. The Chamber of Commerce now became virtually extinct for a period of eleven years. A growing indifference, for several years previous to the year 1806, had beenmani-

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m&. kino's discourse. 429 fested by the members of the chamber, to the dignity and usefulness of the association so that its ceasing to live, as it were, for a term of years, is less inexplicable than otherwise it might be deemed. On Tuesday, 4th of March, 1817, under a summons from Cornelius Ray, the President elected in 1800, issued at the request of several members, the chamber was again organized appointed a committee to revise its by-laws, and renewed signs of vitality were exhibited by the proposal of thirty-six new names, mostly of young merchants, come upon the scene since the last preceding meeting, as members of the chamber. The meetings were reduced to six per year, and were attended with some regularity. At the meeting in April, the portraits of Lt. Gov. Colden and of Alexander Hamilton, taken for and belonging to the chamber, were, at the request of the Academy of Fine Arts, deposited with them, subject to the order of the chamber. At a special meeting in February, 1819, a memorial was adopted, to both Houses of Congress, against the proposed repeal of the charter of the Bank of the United States. This memorial argues the question wholly on large general grounds and it says expressly: " Your memorialists are not induced to this respectful expression of their sentiments by apprehension of loss to the citizens of New York from a reduced value of the stock, for very little of it is held by them ; nor by pride of opinion, for they have had no control over, neither do they approve the general administration of the affairs of that Institution." The committee who prepared and reported this memorial were Wm. Neilson, Geo. Griswold and J. J. Palmer. Cornelius Ray having declined a reelection, William Bayard, first vice president, was chosen president. The thanks of the corporation were returned to Mr. Ray for his long and faithful services. Cornelius Ray was of an old New York family, of which the founder, John Ray, came to this country before 1700, from Exeter, in the county of Devonshire, England. His son, Richard Ray, in 1705, was married to Elsey Saunders, and their son Richard, the father of Cornelius, was born in New York on the 12th of June, 1717, and on the 24th of April, 1748, he married Sarah, the daughter of Cornelius Bogert. From this marriage sprang Cornelius Ray, who was born in New York on the 25th of April, 1755. He married in

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430 hr. kino's discourse. Albany in July, 1784, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Edward Elmendorff, of Kingston, Ulster county. Previously thereto, however, Mr. Ray had made a visit to Europe. Mr. Ray was an active merchant of New York, but during the Revolutionary war he retired to Albany. When peace had restored the city of New York to its own people, Mr. Ray returned to his accustomed place and pursuits. Alter the establishment of the United States Bank Mr. Ray was chosen president of the branch in this city, and so continued until the expiration of its charter in 1810. He was also, as has been seen, the President of the Chamber of Commerce from 1806 to 1819, when he declined farther service. Mr. Ray was long connected with several of the charitable institution of his native city. In his personal character and intercourse he was kind and gentle, of high and well settled principles. He was the companion and friend of many of the distinguished men of the day. In politics he' was a constant and sturdy supporter of the federal party. He was an honest man, a kind father, warm friend, and a sincere Christian, and he left behind him at his death, which occurred in 1820, an unblemished name, which his children honorably prize. At a subsequent meeting in September, Delegates were appointed, on the suggestion of the Chamber of Commerce of Philadelphia, to meet in that city with Delegates from all the commercial cities, to take measures to defeat the proposed Tariff Bill. Such a convention did accordingly assemble in Philadelphia, on the 1st of November, and a report of the doings thereof was made by the New York delegates to the chamber, at a special meeting in January, 1821. This report, which is spread at large on the minutes, embodies the names of all the members of that convention, and a journal of its proceedings, and the resolutions which were adopted by it. These resolutions, fourteen in number, are as thoroughly anti-tariff as even South Carolina could desire; yet no state south of Maryland was represented the convention consisting wholly of delegates from Maine, New Hamp7 shire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Wm. Bayard, president of the New York Chamber of Commerce, and one of its delegates, was chosen president of the convention. Revenue, it was insisted by these resolutions, is the legitimate purpose of legislation on the subject of duties; and the'abolition of

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mr. king's discourse. 431 drawbacks and the imposition of cash duties were alike resisted as injurious to commerce, Manufactures and agriculture. The first step toward building a Merchants' Exchange was taken at the May meeting of this year, when a com-n>ittee was apppinted to consider of the expediency of such an enterprise. At a subsequent meeting, the committee reported that they had petitioned the legislature for an act of incorporation, with a capital of half a million dollars, to build an exchange. This act was granted, and under it subscriptions were obtained for building the exchange, which was destroyed in the great fire of 1835. The chamber, in December, at a special meeting convened for the purpose of considering a circular letter from the merchants and citizens of Boston, asking the simultaneous cooperation of the commercial towns and cities, in an application to Congress to pass a Bankrupt law, resolved so to cooperate, and appointed a committee to draft a fitting memorial, which was reported to a subsequent meeting and adopted. In January, 1822, the chamber discussed and adopted resolutions, which were ordered to be sent to Congress, against the repeal of the laws prohibiting trade in British vessels from the colonies while the colonial system of Great Britain was maintained against our navigation. This was a noted subject of dispute in its day, and the ground here taken By the chamber was clearly that called for by a just sense of American rights although that ground was, at a subsequent day, abandoned by the government of the United States. In the summer of this year (1822) the yellow fever again visited New York, and no meetings of the chamber were held from the 2d of July to the 3d of December. Early in the ensuing year the subject of the quarantine laws, the revision of the tariff of 1818, and the Mercantile Library Association, the inspection of flour, and other inspection laws were under the consideration of the chamber. At the February meeting an elaborate report was accepted, setting forth the merits of the Mercantile Library Association, commending it to the special regard and protection of the chamber, and recommending an appropriation of $250 to its library. This was granted, and a standing committee of five members of the chamber was to be annually appointed, to visit the library from time to time, and

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432 mr. to report its condition and that of the association to the chamber. Alarm was created in this city at this juncture, by a proposition before the Legislature for confining the sittings of the Supreme Court altogether to Albany, and consequently depriving this city of the term usually held here, at which, cases involving nice points of mercantile law, were pleaded by men, whose residence and business here necessarily made them conversant with the laws and the usages of merchants. A strong memorial against this innovation was adopted, and the measure fell through* An able memorial was also adopted, 17th February, 1823, against a proposal of the Common Council, to assess taxes on all property either owned in the city or brought into it for sale a project which, in the language of the memorial, " contemplated nothing less than that every firkin of butter, every basket of eggs, all meats, poultries, fish, vegetables, all articles of fuel, of clothing, of amusement, of luxury, of necessity, the fruits of the soil and the produce of the seas, brought from our confederate states, equally with the manufactures and productions of foreign countries, shall each and all pay toll to the corporation of New York, for the privilege of being introduced into the city for the consumption, use and benefit of its inhabitants." A very strong memorial to the Legislature was adopted at the February meeting, 1823, against the law for inspecting tobacco, as wholly injurious and of questionable constitutionality. In the minutes of December, 1823, is a long report as to the law of factors and consignees, and their right to pledge goods, &c, together with the opinion of Chancellor Kent, on the points applicable to this subject, which were submitted to him. Again did the chamber petition Congress for a bankrupt law, which the commercial disasters of 1823 rendered so necessary, but still petitioned in vain. The quarantine law and the pilots were still sources of discontent, trouble and remonstrance. During the summer of this year, 1826, the chamber hardly met at all, but at the meeting in November, Robert Lenox, first vice president, informed the chamber that their president, Win. Bayard, who had been annually reflected from 1820, had died on the 8th September preceding. A committee was immediately named to report suitable resolutions expressive of the respect and affection of the mem-

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mr. king's discourse. 433 bers for the deceased, and being reported, these resolutions were unanimously passed; and at the next meeting held for the purpose of filling the vacancy Robert Lenox, first vice president, was chosen unanimously. William Bayard decended from a Huguenot family of honorable antecedent! and honorable conduct, was the son of Col. Bayard, who, trusted by the crown at the commencement of our revolutionary struggle, returned that trust with unhesitating loyalty and taking boldly the part of the crown, subjected his large estates to confiscation. But he was not thereby exasperated against his countrymen on the contrary, while this city was in possession of the British, he was active and liberal in relieving American prisoners, and obtained the release of many from that scene of torture and of death, the Jersey, prison ship. Col. Bayard accompanied the retiring army to England, leaving behind his son William, the subject of this notice who soon, by his activity, his industry and his good conduct, made for himself a name and a career, as an honorable and successful merchant. Forming a partnership, first with Herman LeRoy, and then with James Me Evers, the house of LeRoy, Bayard fy McEvers became, and for long years remained, one of the most honored and prosperous of American commercial establishments they enjoyed, especially, the confidence of the wary and cautious but opulent Dutch houses, which, in the hour of this nation's greatest need, after the revolutionary struggle, and before yet a settled federal government had consolidated the great resources of the country and obtained the control of them had made large loans to the young republic. The credit of the house of LeRoy, Bayard & McEvers was world wide and it is believed that their bills of exchange drawn on England, were first used from this city, as a remittance to the East Indies instead of coin, for the purchase of India goods. Their opulence and credit were at the highest when the project of the Erie Canal first took something like definite shape, and it is to be recorded to the credit of Mr. Bayard's sagacity, that he saw with the eyes and large soul of his early friend De Witt Clinton, the inestimable benefits of the enterprize, and pledged himself to Mr. Clinton, to procure from his Dutch friends the capital necessary for the undertaking, upon the stock of the State of New York. A record lies before us, written by one who then was in the employment of the firm, and now a respected merchant in this city, which relates the particulars of an interview

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434 mr. king's discourse. between Mr. Bayard and Mr. Clinton on this subject, at the counting-house of the former, and testifies both to the earnestness of Mr. Bayard's zeal in behalf of the great projects and to the delicacy of its real, unfaltering, undismayed and undiscouraged author and accomplisher, De Witt Clinton. He objected to any arrangement which, because of the known intimacy and friendship between himself and Mr. Bayard, might lead to the possible imputation that they were co-operating in such a work for purposes of personal speculation. The overture was therefore declined but it is not to be doubted that the confidence expressed by a man so conversant with the state of credit and the money market as Mr. Bayard, that capital adequate to the occasion could be had on the bonds of the State, had a most encouraging influence upon the mind of Mr. Clinton, and led him to persevere unto final and most triumphant success. In this success no one more heartily rejoiced than Mr, Bayard. In all public works and institutions of benevolence Mr. Bayard was ever ready. His private bounties were numerous, magnificent, and silent. His personal demeanor was most courteous his manners winning, his temper gentle and sweet. He had no enemies and hosts of friends-1 and when finally summoned from among the living, he was mourned as those only are mourned who have learned and practised the great but rare lesson in life, of so using prosperous fortunes as to disarm malice and silence envy. At the March meeting in 1827, a remonstrance was adopted against a bill before the Legislature, proposing to change the rate of damages on protested bills on Europe, from 20 per cent., the established rate, to 7 per cent. As a matter of fact, it may be stated that the bill finally passed, fixing the damages at 10 percent. On the 1st of May, 1827, the new Exchange, in Wall street, being opened for business, the Chamber of Commerce, on that day, took possession of the apartment assigned for their use by the trustees of the building. On the 3d of July, 1827, the chamber, on the suggestion of, and co-operating with, the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, adopted a memorial to the President, John Q. Adams, in favor of a line of communication between the United States and the Pacific Ocean, through the Gulf of Mexico, and across the Isthmus of Darien. Thus, twenty-one years ago, was suggested the route

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mr. king's discourse, 435 which within the last few weeks days, it may almost be said has been carried into actual operation, for communicating with the Pacific Ocean. At that time no vision of American States on that great sea of a continuous people from the Atlantic to the Pacific, stretching across the whole continent, of the same language, lineage and laws had dawned on the popular mind. The communication then sought was simply for commercial convenience ; but now it is of high social and political necessity that we should have the most rapid means of communicating with our own countrymen in California and in Oregon; and hence the lines of steamers from New York to Chagres of which the first will take her departure next week and of a connecting line on the Pacific, of which the first, the California, went hence about a month ago. The plan suggested to the government by the chamber, in 1827, was for a line of small national vessels to sail once a month to Chagres, with a number of like vessels in the Pacific to meet their mails at Panama, and convey them to Valparaiso, touching at intermediate ports. In September, 1827, was adopted a memorial to the Common Council, urging their co-operation with a plan proposed by the gentlemen of the bar, for constituting a new court in the city, to be known as the Superior Court, in order to remedy the great delay in the law now so pernicious, arising from the excess of cases, and the insufficient provision of courts to determine them. In January, 1828, another very earnest and forcible remonstrance to Congress against the farther increase proposed of duties on woollens, was adopted, and in the next month commendation is officially bestowed on a report by a committee of the citizens of Boston, as to the farther increase of the tariff, and thanks were voted to such newspapers as had reproduced extracts from that report. A special meeting was convened by the president on the 18th of February, in order to consider of the proper means of testifying respect for the memory of De Witt Clinton, who died at Albany on the 11th of February, in the 59th year of his age. Appropriate resolutions were reported by W. W. Woolsey, and unanimously adopted. The chief one is here quoted, as comprehending in a brief summary the outline of an illustrious life: " His devotion to the cause of science and literature, and to the benevolent institutions which distinguish the present day his successful efforts to promote schools among the SECOND SERIES, VOL. II. 41

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436 mr. kino's discourse. great body of our citizens, whereby nearly half a million of our youth receive the benefit of education his genius in projecting, and his untiring zeal and energy in carrying into effect, the great scheme of internal navigation, which has already united the Hudson with the inland seas of the north, and will soon lead to a similar union with the immense waters of the west, and lay open to the commerce of this city fertile countries, whose shores are not inferior in extent to the shores of Europe all show the superiority of his mind that it was directed to the most patriotic objects, and that its efforts have been crowned with the most splendid success." The public man of whom these things could be justly said, as in the case of De Witt Clinton they most unquestionably were, needs, can indeed have, no higher eulogy no more glorious epitaph; but where is the monument which such a benefactor should receive from the hands of a grateful people, and more especially from the hands of a city, of which the enterprise he carried through to such unparalleled success has more than doubled, and is yet constantly adding to, the wealth and prosperity ? Where is the monument of grateful New York to its benefactor, De "Witt Clinton ? May the day not be distant when he who shall repeat this question will be referred to some lofty and fitting memorial which shall attest, to all eyes and all ages, that he whose canal has poured wealth prodigally into our streets whose provident mind, in contributing firmly to establish and widely to spread popular instruction has poured streams, yet more priceless, of knowledge and morality into the hearts of millions, who yet know not his name from any public record that he, the benefactor of his own, age and generation, and of generations yet unborn -i did not serve an ungrateful people. * At the same meeting, W. Trimble, from the committee appointed to procuie amendments to the acts for appointing and regulating pilots, reported that they had not been able to accomplish anything, and that their attempts had altogether failed. In April, a committee from the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce asked from the New York chamber their cooperation in inducing Congress to construct a breakwater in the Delaware, which request, after being referred to a committee and favorably reported upon, was complied with. Another proposition from the Philadelphia chamber met

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mr. king's discourse. 487 with less success ; that for the substitution of a system of compulsory warehousing and cash duties, for the present system of duties on credit. A long and able report adverse to this proposition, was made to the chamber of" New York and accepted by it, and a counter memorial to that from Philadelphia was directed to be prepared and sent to Congress. In February, 1829, a memorial was presented by the chamber to Congress, dwelling upon " the calamitous results of the tariff of 1828," and asking for a reduction of duties, On the 30th of April, a special meeting was called toconsi* der of the proper mode of testifying respect for the memory of Archibald Gracie, then lately deceased. A committee was appointed to report at the next stated meeting, in May, when accordingly it was ordered that the date of his decease be entered on the minutes as a renewed expression of the high sense entertained of the services of the deceased while an officer of this Board, and of the grateful remembrance which it cherishes of the courtesy of his manners, his intelligence and benevolence, and of his uniform and tried integrity. This was a high, well merited, most unusual, and therefore more precious tribute to the memory of a good man, who no longer, at the period of his death, and for several years "before, had considered himself as belonging to the society. It was well merited. Adversity such as falls at times upon the most cautious merchant, had fallen upon Archibald Gracie, and he who for more than the third of a, century had pursued with signal industry, intelligence, liberality and success, the high and honorable calling of a merchant, saw himself stricken down in his advanced years, by a succession of disasters which no prudence could avert, nor sagacity foresee. Mr. Gracie was a native of Scotland, and left his birthplace, Dumfries, about the same time with Wm. Ewart and John Reid, youths of his own age, and alike bent on seeking their fortunes in the commercial world. Mr. Ewart directed his steps to Liverpool, and became there the head of the house, well known to American merchants, of Ewart, Rutson & Co. Mr. Reid found his theatre in London, and there became the head of another well known house, Reid, Irving & Co. Mr. Gracie crossed the sea, after the close of the war, established himself in Petersburg, Virginia, and

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438 me. king's discourse. soon made for himself a position and a name there. Called by his business occasionally to New York, he here met with the wife who constituted the happiness of his after life, Miss Rogers; and this circumstance, combining with the better field which New York presented to a man of Mr. Gracie's reach of mind for the prosecution of business, determined him to remove to this city about 1791; and here he labored honorably, diligently, and for long years, most successfully. His habits as a man of business were those of great self-reliance, great promptness and great decision. "Wealth flowed in upon him, but he valued it only as it enabled him to indulge the generous feelings of a nature that never harbored a selfish thought the noble impulses of a heart which found its delight in conferring benefits, relieving distress, promoting every good aim and aspiration. His family, his domestic hearth, was the home of happiness of hospitality of all the Christian graces and virtues. Of a cheerful temper and most winning and gentle manners himself, the sunshine of his ample brow and bright, quick, but smiling eyes, diffused itself over all around his footstep as it entered the sanctuary of home from the labor of the counting-house, fell upon every ear as the most welcome sound, for he was beloved as such a man only can be beloved. In his public walk as in his private life he was without blemish or reproach. His views of human nature were hopeful. Distrust was foreign to him wholly honest, confiding, unsuspecting himself he would not soil his mind, nor sour his own hopeful temper, by suspecting the motives or the integrity of others. He carried his heart in his hand, and a nobler one does not beat on earth. When the storm came, which after long and vigorous struggling overthrew him, he lamented less his own privations, his own altered condition, than that, of those most dear to him; the loss of fortune, as carrying with it the loss of the means of self-indulgence, or of ostentation, or display, touched him not at all; but it did touch him nearly that the hand which had never turned away the suffering or the destitute, was now powerless for acts of benevolence. He died in this city in his 74th year, mourned and honored most by those" who most nearly lived with and knew him. During the remainder of the year 1830, and the beginning of 1831^ little business of moment was transacted. The president, Robert Lenox, summoned an extra meet-

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mr. king's discourse. 4S9 ing of the chamber on the 6th of July, to c6nsider of the proper mode of testifying respect for the late James Monroe, ex-President of the United States, who died in the city on the preceding 4th inst. The chamber adopted resolutions of regret and respect, and determined to attend in a body the funeral ceremonies. The Hellgate and East river pilots row came in for their share of animadversion, and at the February meeting in 1832, a petition was voted to the Legislature of this State praying that coasting vessels trading from Troy, Albany and New York to eastern ports, through the Sound, may be exempted from pilotage fees, which they are now by law obliged to pay, when they neither need nor employ pilots, the masters thereof being, themselves, at least as skilful as the branch pilots. In April, 1832, another memorial was voted to Congress for a new custom-house. No quorum seems to have been formed from November, 1833, to May. 1834. At this meeting a series of resolutions were adopted against a project then mooted, of causing the1 city hall to be sold to the General Government for a custom-house and post office, and upon these resolutions was founded a strong memorial to the Secretary- of the Treasury, dissuading him from any such arrangement, as extreme-* ly inconvenient to the commerce of the city. A committee of the chamber was directed to proceed to Washington with this memorial and the resolutions upon which it was founded, in order to confer with the President and Secretary of the Treasury, and represent to them the evils of such a scheme. 1 In consequence of this earnest interposition of the chamber, the President, as was announced to the committee by the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. McLane, determined to carry out the original plan of building the custom house in Wall street, where it now stands, an ornament to the city, and convenient for the merchants. On the 3d of December, '33, a report in favor of laying the foundations of a Commercial Library was adopted, and resolutions were passed, appropriating $500 as a commencement, and appointing a committee of five to carry into effect these resolutions. The library was to be placed in the room in the Exchange where the chamber met. It does not appear that any effect was given to these resolutions, nor that any steps towards carrying them into execution were ever taken-

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440 me. king's discourse. A project for a ship canal round the falls of Niagara, and of a railroad from Lake Erie to the Hudson, was laid before the chamber in September, 1833, and called forth a very favorable expression of opinion, and a committee was appointed to publish the plan of the proposed canal, and a pamphlet explanatory thereof, for general distribution 'the cost, not exceeding two hundred dollars, to be paid by the chamber. During the year 1835, the minutes of the chamber are unusually barren. The following entry, under date of 5th of January, 1836, opens the third volume of the minutes of the chamber. " There was no meeting of the Chamber of Commerce this day, in consequence of the total destruction of the Merchants' Exchange, and the confusion created in all business arrangements by the dreadful and most disastrous fire on the night of the 16th of December, which has laid waste the greater part of the business section of the First Ward. The books and pictures, and the corporate seal of the chamber, fortunately were saved from the flames." It cannot be misplaced in reference to the grevious calamity recorded in the entry just read to say, that the undepressed spirit and unfaltering energy displayed by the body of merchants and traders of the cityr under such losses and disappointments as that fire occasioned, will long be remembered with admiration, and mast be regarded as having essentially contributed to the prompt renovation, in even more than its original value and substance, of the large district over which the flames swept. In several cases foundations were commenced of new and more costly edifices, amid the glow of the expiring em- ? bers of the buildings destroyed, and it is pleasant and grateful to believe that such energy was not without its feward, and that they who would not be ruined by adding despondency to disaster, have reaped the fruits of their wisely directed and rare energy, in ultimate and not long-waited-for success. At the February meeting of the chamber, a memorial to Congress was adopted, praying for the passage of the bill then pending, for extending the term of bonds for duties in New York. The propriety of sending a memorial to the Legislature of the State, for the repeal of all laws prohibiting the establishment of foreign insurance companies-among us, was discussed, but the chamber declined to interfere.

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mr. king's discourse. 441 The pilots again came up, and a memorial to the Legislature for an increase of the number was adopted. A bill being before Congress for compelling merchant ships to carry apprentices, with a view to secure an adequate supply of experienced seamen, Mr. Goldsborough, a senator from Maryland, and chairman of the Senate's committee, to whom the bill was referred, sent a copy of it to the chamber, with the expression of a wibh for its opinion in relation thereto. The subject was referred to a committee, and on the ISth of May a report was made by that committee, approving the general principle of the. bill, but dissenting from some of its details. In February, '37, the chamber memorialized Congress for a law to authorize the employment of some of the vessels of the navy to cruise off the coast during the winter season, as relief vessels. The chamber also passed strong resolutions in favor of the completion of the Erie railroad, and calling upon citizens of all classes to subscribe to its stock. The pilots again troubled the chamber, and a committee was sent to Albany to see what could be done in the premises. Happily, Congress had now passed a bill throwing the business of piloting open to competition, and New Jersey had established a system for the appointment and regulation of pilots, for contributing to the success of which, by attending at Trenton, Capt. Hackstaff received the special thanks of the chamber. A strong remonstrance against the usury laws, was sent by a committee to the State Legislature, a printed copy of which is annexed to the minutes of 2d of May. During the summer of '37, no meeting of the chamber was held. It was at this period that our city was thrown into a sudden consternation by a well accredited rumor that a pirate vessel had been met with in the track of our European packet ships, and had actually captured a Philadelphia ship a rumor which called forth a spontaneous, prompt and gratifying expedition, organized with the utmost despatch, by the navy officers on this station, in order to seek out and capture the dangerous foe. Happily, the rumor proved unfounded; but its existence had the good effect of displaying the zeal of the navy, and of turning attention to the necessity, with so rich a commerce and so defenceless a coast as ours, of always having at hand, and in readiness, a certain amount of naval force.

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442 At the first meeting of the chamber after this occurrence, (7th of November,) its thanks were especially tendered to Com. Ridgely, Capts. Perry and Stringham, and Lieut. Sands, for the zeal and alacrity evinced by them in getting to sea with such force as they could collect on the spur of the occasion and a committee was appointed to address to the President of the United States, a representation of the expediency of a permanent home squadron as well for the relief of vessels on our coast in distress, as for the protection of our commerce and this was the origin of the policy ever since pursued though not always with adequate or appropriate force, of keeping afloat, off the coast or in the harbor, ready for sea, some well equipped vessels of war. The commercial and financial disasters which this year overspread the country, and resulted in a general suspension of specie payments, led to a correspondence between the chamber and the Secretary of the Treasury, urging on the part of the merchants a prolongation of the credit on all bonds falling due before the 1st of January next of two years the Secretary of the Treasury signified his purpose of submitting this suggestion to Congress. The chamber reiterated to the Legislature its interest in the completion of the Erie railroad, and its hope that all reasonable aid might be extended to it by the Legislature. And upon Congress it again pressed the expediency of a well-regulated apprentice system for the commercial marine. A warehousing system was again agitated in Congress, and the Chamber of Commerce in February, 1838, adopted a strong memorial in favor of such a system, with the proviso, however, that the existing system of credits upon duties be not altered. Ten years before the chamber had not only refused to cooperate with the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in support of a warehousing system, but had memorialized Congress in opposition to it. Then, however, the scheme was accompanied with what seems its natural counterpart, cash duties. Now the chamber adhering to its opposition to cash duties, yet favored a general warehousing system. Both Mr. Senator Wright and Mr. Cambreleng, representative in Congress, having informed the chamber that Congress would not probably consent to a warehousing system and credits upon duties, the whole subject was reconsidered by tbe chamber, and it was anew decided that both

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MR. KING'S DISCOURSE. 443 should be asked for, and if both could not be combined, that the preservation of the credit system of duties was to be preferred to the establishment of a general warehousing system. A movement was made in the chamber in March, 1839, which, however, upon being referred to and examined by a committee, was deemed inexpedient the proposition was to ask such increased power from the Legislature as would enable the chamber to establish a tribunal, or Court of Commerce, with powers to determine all litigation between merchants the trials to be by juries taken solely from the classes of merchants and traders the juries to determine by bare majorities, and proof to be given in writing finally the juries to be judges both of the law and the facts. This seems prima facie a reasonable proposition, well calculated to facilitate intelligent and prompt decisions of mercantile disputes. The committee of the chamber nevertheless deemed it inexpedient, and so reported, without any reasoning directly to the chamber which acquiesced in the report. The Legislature of the State having before them at the pending session in April, 1839, a bill abolishing imprisonment in the case of non-resident debtors, the chamber forwarded a brief but forcible memorial in opposition to the bill, as likely to prove injurious to the city of New York, always a creditor city. The President of the United States being on a visit to New York, the chamber at the same meeting resolved to pay their respects to him. A special meeting was summoned on the 14th of December, 1839, by the first vice president, Isaac Carow, who announced as its object the consideration of the proper marks of respect to be shown to the memory of Robert Lenox, late president. Appropriate resolutions were unanimously passed and ordered to be communicated to the family of the deceased, and to be entered on the minutes of the chamber. Mr. Lenox is commemorated in these resolutions as " for1 many years a zealous, impartial and efficient officer, always interested in the well-being and success of the chamber ; as an eminent merchant who for a period beyond the ordinary course of human life had been distinguished for great prudence, a clear and sound judgment, and unblemished reputation." Robert Lenox was a native of the town of Kirkcudbright SECOND SERIES, VOL. II. 42

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444 mji. king's discourse:. in Scotland, whence he was sent at an early age to an uncle residing in Philadelphia, then a commissary-general of prisoners in the British service. He went to school for a time- at Burlington, New Jersey, and afterward entered his uncle's office as an assistant, where he continued till the close of the Revolutionary war. He married in this city in 1783, immediately after which he made a short visit to his native country, and on his return settled here as a merchant, where he remained permanently till his death, which occurred in December, 1839, in the 81st year of his age. Mr. Lenox commenced business on a scale commensurate with his means, then slender in the extreme ; but he gradually and steadily enlarged his transactions till he eventually became one of the most extensive as well as successful merchants in the United States, and such was his prudence and sagacity that it is believed there was not a year during the whole period of his actual mercantile life in which he did not find his property greater at the close than it had been at the commencement. This will be deemed the more surprising when it is considered that a fierce war raged in Europe during the whole time, and that the commerce of this country was continually subjected to the most flagrant injuries at the hands of the principal belligerents. It may also be mentioned as an evidence of his industry, ¦which was a prominent feature in his character, that even when most extensively engaged in business, and having no partner to assist him, he invariably posted his own books. After the war of 1812 he gradually relinquished mercantile pursuits, occupying himself with the care of his own estate, which had then become large, and which afforded him aniusement for a few hours daily till within a very short period of his death. Mr. Isaac Carow was the elected successor of Mr. Lenox, and as it does not fall within the design of this sketch to include any notices of the living, we close our extracts from, and references to, the proceedings of the chamber. A few words more, and I will no longer abuse the patience with which this somewhat disjointed paper has been so kindly received. My hope and aim in thus reviving the past and placing before the present day some of the memorials of the merchants of our early beginning, our colonial and Revolutionary days, have been that those who now fill a place made vacant by them may from such antecedents derive addi-

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mr. king's discourse. 445 tional motives for a like exercise of civic virtues, of unflinching patriotism, and of intelligent enterprise. I have, I confess, another motive, that of contributing, if it may be, to revive interest in, and the energy and importance of, the Chamber of Commerce. We have seen that from its origin up to the commencement of this century, and occasionally to a more recent date, the chamber was called upon alike by the authorities of the city, and of the State, and of the nation, for its advice and opinions on questions supposed to be specially within its cognizance questions of quarantine, and public health and cleanliness the laws of trade, of currency, the effect of inspection laws, of high and low duties, of bankrupt laws, &c, and the records from which I have so largely quoted show, that the merchants composing the chamber could always bring to the consideration of these questions not only much practical knowledge, but the ability to state their views with great perspicuity and force. The memorials and reports embodied in the minutes of the chamber are many of them models of style and of cogent reasoning. In later years the chamber has been less attractive to the commercial body ; the meetings have been negligently attended^ and hastily despatched, and as a consequence the influence of the chamber has declined. This should not be, and would not be, if the part that it and its members have played in the brief but illustrious annals of our country, were more familiarly known. If what has been said this evening shall tend in any manner to revive interest in the Chamber of Commerce, I shall derive the highest gratification from being, in some humble degree, associated with such a revival, for I, too, was bred a merchant, and never cease to feel proud of being associated with a profession which is the civilizer, the refiner and the liberator of the world. The genius of commerce is indeed well symbolized on the seal of this corporation, by the god Mercury with his winged cap and his soul-compelling cadu-ceus. The old Greek Mythology, full as it is of hidden wisdom, and typical of higher things, has in some of the attributes ascribed to Mercury, well foreshadowed the nature and conquests of commerce; for it, too, as is fabled of the youthful Hermes, robs Neptune of his trident, Venus of her girdle, Mars of his sword, Vulcan of his forges, and even Jupiter of his sceptre. It is commerce which covers with its ships the subject sea, which sweeps over the globe for materials to adorn beauty, which seals in its scabbard (ha

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446 mh. king's discourse. red sword pf war, and cultivates peace and the arts of peace ; which lights the fires of the mechanic arts, and, last and greatest of all, teaches man no longer to bow down before idols of his own ereation on earth or in the skies, but, looking erect to heaven, to walk among his fellow-men as an equal, while walking humbly and devoutly before the true and no longer conjectural or unknown God. It was the distinguishing feature of the merchants who formed this association, and of their immediate successors, that they filled that most interesting portion of our history, when commerce was rising from its cradle and taking the first steps in that grand progress, which is already the marvel of the world and which is yet advancing. At such an epoch every movement was important. Events at other seasons the most trivial were now momentous, casting forward shadows of dark and solemn import. Nor were the men of that day limited in their reward to that which the eye of faith alone could discern for many were the instances where the individual pioneers lived to enjoy in real fruition the harvests earned by their industry and forecast. A young German was found among the number, pursuing, within the solitude and depths of the'primeval forests of New York, the trapping of the beaver upon its remote and then almost inaccessible waters. That individual lived to be pushed before the advancing wave of civilization inward and inward, and yet farther inward, through the great range of inland seas to the utmost extremity of Lake Superior, and thence onward to the Rocky Mountains, and still borne on by the wave, surmounting them, till he was checked only in his progress by the shores of the Pacific. This humble German boy, thus urged on from ocean to ocean, stands (and his memory will long endure) as a type of American progress. The field of his earlier achievements the Seneca Lake then a solitude and a waste, is now gemmed with gardens, and temples of science and religion ; and in this city, his final abode, and resting place, and sepulchre, are provided the means, through the munificence of that young trapper, of building, furnishing and maintaining, a public library, on a, magnificent scale, free to all, and which will bear to all time the name of Jobs Jacob Astor,