The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-03 00:00:00

al diminution in the future supply of cotton, now
threatened, would be a serious calamity. There could
be no doubt that a diminution of the supply of cotton
would be, perhaps, a more serious calamity than a
diminution of the produce of alfnost any. oilier article
consumed here in ordinary manufactures, making the
exception, of course, of the articles of food. That sub-
ject had been mooted very lately . by the Manchester
Chamber of Commerce, as the meeting was aware.
Should any measures be put forward by which in any
way the growth of cotton could be increased, he was
sure the chamber would be most happy to listen to them,
and if they approved of them, to lend their aid and
assistance to their being carried into effect. (Hear,
hear.) Meantime, a gentleman who represented the
West Indian interest in that chamber, Mr. Booker,
had intended to be present •on that day—
but, unfortunately, he was confined at home by
severe indisposition, and to bring before the chamber
the question of the feasibility or practicability of grow-
ing cotton in our West Indian colonies to a very great
extent, and the difficulties under which the colonists
laboured by reason of the present restrietiOns imposed
by the laW on the introduction of free labour into the
colonies. He believed a letter would -be read from Mr.
Booker upon that subject. The question of export bonds
which were given for articles connected with Contraband
of war, involved a great deal of loss, inconvenience, and
embarrassment to gentlemen who had given these bonds,
and formed a subject of long negociation bet Ween the
Chamber and her Majesty's Treasury, with a view to
get the Treasury to consent to the cancelling of all the
bonds. This could not be obtained, and various sugges-
tions were made for the cancelling of the bonds, all of
which, he was sorry to say,. were attended with extreme
inconvenience to the public. The question at last
assumed such a very important shape, and the
inconvenience became so great that the Council
agreed to press the.. subject upon the Treasury in
the strongest tome. He Was happy to say that they
were met by the Treasury, and particularly by Mr. Wilson,
with the expression of every desire to meet the views of
the commercial community, and at length a medium
course was adopted, which he was glad to say solved the
difficulty. That course was to leave in the hands of the
collector of customs here a discretionary power by which
he might adjudicate at to the validity of the evidence
which as offered to him for the cancelling of bonds. By
this means the difficulty was solved. and, he believed, in
a most satisfactory manner, to those concerned (hear,
hear). When they considered how very inconvenient
it was admitted unanimously to be, it was highly
gratifying to think that the Chamber had been at all
conducive to a settlement of the question: It was the
more satisfactory when they recollected that the party
who was so appointed to deal with the question was a
gentleman who, he was sure, had earned, since he-came
among that community, a tribute of the highest grati-
tude and respect from all members of the commercial
body, Mr. Edwards, the present collector of customs
(rear, hear). He did not think they could by any pwsi_
bility have 'had any other gentleman who united
with such- great talent for business—such an extreme
desire to facilitate all the operations of commerce in.
Liverpool. (Hear, hear.) The next question on which
he had to remark was the Honduras railway. They had
already heard, he was happy to say, that a very reasonable
prospect existed that the railway would be brought before
the public ere long under very favourable auspices : and,
when they considered the importance of the question by
which England and the United States were now endea-
vouring to secure to the world some great highway across
the Isthmus, by which America and the old world could
be brought into easier communication with each other, it
was very gratifying to think that there was a prospect of
the object being under the auspices of the two govern-
ments ere long established. (Cheers.) With reference
to the library, the attention of the meeting had been
already called to the fact that they bad now got the
foundation of what he trusted would be a very important
library ere long. He would wish members to recollect,
and to make it generally known, that access to the library
and opportunities of using it would be open to all members
of the chamber at all times, and that it contained some
most valuable works. When speaking of the library, it
was only since they met that morning, that he was
informed that the appeal to members for contributions
to the library had been met at once in a very liberal
manner by one of the members, Mr. J. T. Danson, who
had made a very handsome donation to the chamber,
including, he understood, some valuable statistical works,
principally French, and which constituted a very muni-
ficent gift. (Hear, hear.) He was quite sure he did
not need to ask those present to acknowledge the gift in
a proper manner. (Hear, hear.) The only remark he
had left to make, was, that upon all occasions when
they had to consult the members for the borough, and
the members for south Lancashire, they always met with
the greatest kindness and assis ance. (Rear, hear.)
Now that these gentlemen were returning so their duties
in yarliamen, he was...surghall 09 In q,gmiltasli, of
labour with the same assiduity which they had always
shown. (Hear, hear.) The president then concluded
by moving the adoption of the report.
hl r. W. Brown, M.P., seconded the adoption of the
report, and in doing so observed that they were greatly
indebted to the gentlemen who had paid so much attention
to the important subjects referred to in it. The president
had alluded to one or two important subjects which had
come under the attention of the committee of which he
(Mr. Brown) was chairman, and on these subjects it was
desirable, perhaps, that he should say a few words. (Hear.
hear.) 'And' first in regard to the Atlantic telegraph—the
scheme was now progressing as fast as circumstances would
permit. Mr. Whitehouse and other engineers were getting
the apparatus ready, and they hoped to be able to make the
experiment by June. TNO thousand miles of cable were
being prepared, and he was going up to London this day
to see the government as to the fulfilment of the promise
they had given, and to induce them to allow other govern-
ment ships to verify the soundings before making the
experiment of laying down the cable. (Hear, hear.) For
himself be regretted that they were proceeding rather fast
in this matter ; he would rather they deliberated for another
year, and prepared every thing before they attempted to lay
down the cable. The engineers, however, who were better
acquainted with the subject than he was, differed with him,
and thought they would be perfectly ready to make the
experiment in June.' The next question to which he would
refer was the Honduras railway, of which he was the
chairman. He thought that some action would be taken
on the subject as soon as he got to London. ('Dear, hear.)
Action would have been taken on it before this were it not
that the promoters thought it expedient to allow the public
first to become complete masters of the details of the project,
and to know that it was guaranteed by France, Honduras,
the United States, and Great Britain. Tee project was
guaranteed by these four states, so that whatever hostile
parties might do in Central America, the road would be
protected by these powers, and their guarantee he thought
would be satisfactory to the British public. (Hear,
hear.) Under these circumstances he considered
that it might be taken with certainty that those who would
entark in the project would be amply remunerated.
(Hear, hear.) With respect to the bank act, no one
could at present form an opinion as to what would
be the best course to pursue; but it might be taken for
granted that as since 1844, when the last charter was con-
sidered, a vast quantity of gold had been found in California
and Australia, and as their commerce had been also greatly
extended, the means which were sufficient at that period
would be very inadequate now. He had no doubt, how-
ever, but that the subject would undergo a very searching
examination before the House of Commons, and that the
valuable evidence of the chamber would receive from it
every attention. (Bear, hear.)
Mr. Macfie asked if by tho adoption of the report all the
members were bound to it? ' There were some points in it,
for instance, the question of the registration of partnerships,
in which he would not agree.
The President replied that by the adoption of the report
it could not be considered binding on individual members,
but it would be on the council.

The report was then unanimously adopted.
The Ptesident announced that all the local commercial
associations with which the chamber was connected had
nominated their deputies, and that the votes for the election
of directors would be received at the office lip to four
o'clock,

Messrs. Clint, Muefie, and Fisher were appointed sera
tineers. •

Mr. C. Bushell, in obedience to the call of the Chairman,
said that he would he glad to give the chamber very briefly
his impression of the character and object of the conference
lately held in London, and also what was likely to be the
result of it. He was sure that they would have been im-
pressed, as all who were present were, with the deep im-
portance of that conference, composed as it was of distin-
guished members of the Law Amendment Society,
and also of delegates from the various associated commercial
bodies from different parts of the country. He could say
with truth, that he had never attended any meeting which,
to him, was more full of interest than the conference; and
he considered it a great privilege to have been there. It
was presided over by Lord Brougham, whom he had never
before had the privilege of seeing preside over any meeting,
and therefore, at the conference, he was more deeply struck
with the extraordinary intellect of that great man—undim-
med as it was by time, as acute as ever, and accompanied
by a polished consistency of manner and attention to all the
subjects that were brought before him—almost indescribable.
Tha president had already alluded to the various subjects
discussed at the conference, and he (Mr. Bushell) would
not, therefore, again enter into them ; but with regard to
the question of the improvement of the bankruptcy laws, he
considered that that one feature of the conferenee,would alone
have been sufficient to repay all the trouble and all the ex