London Chamber Of Commerc...
The Times, 1824-04-02T00:00:00

Visterday the -.dJqirnerf1ffeting of. Merchants, Bankeri, Ship. owners;, &c., waj held at &h C ity of London Txvinr:j .for the Pur. pose of taking into consideridon the idport of the committee, which w read at the previous meeting,on the subject of the establishment of a London Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was called for 12 o'clock precisely, but at half-past 12 o'clockXithe-attendance still becig unusually thin, the meetingpro. ceedea tobusiness, and on -the mnotion of AMr. TRo3rMs.VWLSOH,V ill., Mr. AANINO, M.P., Was-called to the chaii. The hon. gentle*s1h, in oipening the business, rematked that he Yieldetlto their wish in talting the chaie, -merely to ftciUltate their Proceedings, wishing it at the same time to be understocA. that he did not, br so doing, pledge himself to any particular op:nio. 'cr spectinz teir object. AMr. HL xr. then reacd the regolution's wlich had been agreed upon' by the committee, arnd deCared the expression of reeret which that committee feltupon learning tbat they were not likely to receive the approbation of his MaJesty's Governmeent for their proposed object. D1r. JorHr Smrlmr, M.P., said, that he took the liberty thut early to address the meeting, in consequence of the part which he had taken, with others, in the previous business of the committee, and because he wax desirous, both on tleir part and his own, to ex- plain the reasons which haa induced them in the firstinshance to wro pose the plan,andnow for the presentto abstainfrom pressing its adop. non. In order to put this meetinr i full possession of all the facts con. nected witl whathadbeen donein this btusiness, he hoped they would allow bim, as briefly as possible, to trespass upon their atten. tion while he explained the plan wbich the comnmittee had had in agitation. So late as the last summer, a measure was submitted to Parliament relative to the condition of merchant and tactor-a mea. sure of great commerdal oneration. It became his duty on that occasion to transmit to the Earl of iLiverpool the thanks of a meeting for the conduct pursued by his Majesty's (Government on that occa- sion, and the more thar ordinary degree of attention which the noble =arl had paid to their representations. The following was that let_ ter t_- " Neiv-street, S)ring-gardens, Sep,. 23, 1823. lly Lord,-I have the honour to transmit to your Losdship, the report of a committee of merchants and bankers, appointed to conduct rtn important application to Parliament, which received your Lordship's sanction and support and the general meeting of mer- chants nnd bankers participating fully in the j ratitude expressed by the committee, directed me, as their chairman, to conmmunicate to your Lordship the account of theirproceedings, as the most Tespect- ful mode of acknowledgin.. their oblication to your Lordshin. I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's most obedient and fIaithful humble servant. " J. S31TTH." '1 o the Eiarl of Liverpool, &c. &c."-. Out of this circumnscance aroset armong the mercarati(e interests Bo assembled, a discussion upon the propriety of establishinga Chamnber of Commerce,wbic!, would in future afford greater fitlity for similar applications when rendered necessary by the exigencies of flercan- tile nflairs. So long ago as 117 such a plan had beea discussed and supported by the most eminent mercantile characters: but in the course of last September the matter, as he had said, became more seriously considered, and a eommittee was appointed, which repeatedly met on the occasion, pursued the discussion with the greatest assiduity, and ultimately adopted the following resolution, which he felt it his duty to trausmit to the Earl of Liverpool at the time :_ " That the opinion of This meeting having been strongly expressed as to the propriety and necessity of ehe formation of a Chamber of Com'merce inhe city of Londou, the subject be referred to the com- mittee appointed by this meeting, for their consideration with liberty to add to their numbers; an4 that, whenever they shall be prepared lwth a report tupon the subject, a public meeting of the bankers, merchants, and otlhers interested in the trade of the metropolis, be specialy convened to con,id&r the same." It was at the time under consideration, whether they ought not to apply for the approbation of Government to the meaeure ; but an objection was taken, to which he felt with others there was attached considerable weight It was remarked, that such an application might give countenance to the idea, that their plan was meant to be, or had the air of. a Government measure, than whichl nothing could be more objectionable. It was impossible, fronm the time of the year when this subject was underconsideration, last September,toget apub- lie meeting, or take the necessarv steps to forward the business, until thepresent year; andone, therefore,wasconvened ashorttime agofor tbatpurpose,and to what followed fromrthatneetinghebeggedto call theirparticularattention. Hehadheard byaccidentithefact, that soon after that meeting tleEarlof Liverpool hadwritten (he believed] four official letters upon the subject, addressed to the Governor of the Bank, the Chairman of the East India Company, the head of theRussia Company, and of annther public body, containing what he (Mr. Smith) coald not Iselp calling a severe criticism upon their (thi Chamber of Commerce Committee) proceedings. This letter, he owned, occasion,ed himn much surprise and great concern, knowing the weiht that must attach to the sentiments which pervaded the noblh lord's letter: he could not quote the exact words in which those sen timent4 were conveyed, but he believed he was accurate in statin~ the noble earl's opinion to be in substance-': that the establishmen of a chalber of commerce in the city of London could not be con. venient or useful to the general mercantile interests, and might bi highly mischievous, by the assumption of a degree of power whict it might be difficult even for the state to control." And the nobli earl, in conclusion, wrote-" that he could not advise the Crown ta grant a charter to such an institution, or to give to it any coun. tenar ce; neither woald he nor any of his MIajesty's ministers (Mir Smith particularly called the attention of the meeting to this passage hold any comnmunication with such a body." He could not help regret ting, that after the kind comnmunication which the noble earl badhbel, with the merchants and others who had metlast Sceptember, thathe di( not feel it right to make the same communication to them which hi had lately made to theheada of.other bodies of great respectabilit, and commercial importauce It was true he had not the honour o styling himself a friend of the Earl of Liverpool, although he kne, w o were friends of the noble lord and esteemed by him, who sup ported his political measures, and to whom it was natural to infer th noble lord would have stated his objections: that course would bav spared them the pain and trouble of pursuing the matter as they ha( done. From the tone of the noble lord's letter, it was, he thought natural to apprehend, that he had received some intimatioi of. the proposed scheme which was not reconcileable witl the fart; and for the purpose of ascertaining whether it wa not possible to rernove the obiections started to the plan, or, if hi might use the term the prejudices that possibly were excited b3 misinformation, the committee sought, through a deputation, ac. cess to the noble earl, to communicate with him on the subject. H, had the kindness to appoint a time for the purpose; but when thai tinle had arrived, they unfortunatelv ascertained at Fife-house that his lordship was indisposed, and had referred the intervies to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with whom they immcdiately had the advantage of a long conference. They soon aseertained. that such was the impression upon the right hon. gentleman's mind against the proposed measure, that there was no chance of his being a convert to their opinion, and that no hopes existed of their gainini the concurrence of his Majesty's Ministers at this moment to then plan. The right hon. gent. stated, that he saw a broad distinction be. tween the advantage of 8uch a Chamber of Commerce in London and in distant parts of the kingdom, for' that in the metropolis the merantile interests waer neaSthe seat of Parliament and of Govern. ment, and could at any time advance any daims, or make any re- presentation, without the inconvenience of delay which circumstances might call for; and that an the other hand these advantages might, if misdirected, lead to such (livisions in the proposed Chamiber of Commerce as might prejudice, if not press on other interests, and so far prove unfair and injurlous to the commpnitv. At the same tiuie that the right hon. gentlemaiu made this declaration, he entirely ac- quitted the gentlemen who had discussed the plan from any inten- tion of doing or suggesting anv thing but what they deemed would be generally advantageous to the mercantile interests at large. (Hear, hear.) He also said that the noble earl, in writing to some of the principal persons in the city the four letters alluded to, had no idea of censuring the gentlemen who had this plan in agitation. He (Mr. Smith) fully acquitted his Afajesty's Government of such an ntentions but it was necessary t'or hin to explain the whole matter as it occurred, for the purpose of showing the part which he as well as others had t.-eren from the beginning to the end of the business. n the course of d day or twvo afier he had this conference with the Chancellor nf the Exchequer, he received the following letter from the Earl of Liverpool :_ cT Fife-rouse, March 26, 18U24. Sir,-The Chancellor of the Exchequer having commnunicated to me the report of the Committee presented at a public meeting of merchants, bankers, and ship-owners, on the 18th day of Iarch, on the expediency of establishing a Charnber-of Commerce in the city of London, I think it right to apprise you of my sentiments as to the intended institution. " I do the fullest justice to the motives of those who have set it on foot, but I ama satisfied, that it is wholly unnecessary, that it can be productive of no real advantage, and that it may eventually lead to much evil and inconvenience. " I can quite understand the advantage arising from particular in. terests associating for their own special protection; but I can see no benefit likely ta result from a general association, such 4s that now proposed; and if any particular interest should' acquire a prepon- (deratinginfluence in it, (which may be difficult to prevent), the in- stitution might in that case operate mnost injuriously upon all other interests and branches of industey. " I do not think it necessary to trouble vou by entering into far- tber details on this subject, after having oandidly stated to you my opinion; but I am sure it will recur to you, that in every respect t era must be a material difference between an institution of this nature in the outports and manufacturing towns, which areat acon. sliderable distance from the seat of Government, and such an esta- blishment itl the city of liondon, where all persons who may feel themselves aggrieved have such easy and immediate access to the Executive Government and to Parliament. " I have the honour to be, your very obedient humble servant, John Smith, Esq. &c. &c. "LIVERPOOL." lie had now pretty accurately explained the past transaction. It certainly might happen, that Ministers, under other circunistance3, maight take a different view of the establishment of a chamber of commerce in London, provided the plan were altered, and new ar. rangements nmade in .the details. His own apprehension was, that the real objection which on the present occasion weighed with hii Majesty'x Government was a certain jealousy of thie effect, of the influence of the rising imnortance of their commercial in. terests, and the degree of weiglit wliich they -might have on the councils of the country, in a manner to which hitherte they were a stranger. So far as experience went elsewhere,. there could not he 'x doubt, that these institutions had been of signal service to the mercantile communities, both at home and abroad, and in fact that the commerce of the country could not be carried on without them. (Hear, hear.) The palpable beneit oF these institutions eLsewhera coald not be-doubted, and he sawe no reason why a dilThrcnt reanlt should fNllow a similar esta. blshmeat in the city o?'Iondon. (Hear.) Thenecessltrofa Lon. don Chamber of Commerce lie thought equally strile,ii,g when they considered. the great risk which individuals incurred frdi. an a:norance of the conplicated niachineryof the existiag laws to which iwere liable, asd the'difflculty of meeting such obstacles in any other way so effectual as by the operation of a combined plan upon the principleproposed. He meant tocast no redeetion upon the ex- tensive bodies engaged iR the metropolis in commercial pursuits, rhen hte said; that hin many instances they were so placed as to have theirproperry exposed to the greatest risk, for ran ofthat informa- hiob and.thosc facilities of obtaining redress which the proposed plan would nembody (Heaei.)' Every nman engaged,'as he had beta, for twenty or thirty years in cointerclal aeffairs; mttstfeelthis to he the fact; '- nd must1be equaly sensible oftihe trouble and delay, and expense, a-s'well as'tuncertainly, often experienced iniscrtainin pirarticulat poinEs of mecrcantile 'law and relieving- hinjmelf ftwm tenvrwish wvhich..they afictlhiedjins..( (Herhear.S--Hegwve -,ttendite6cm.et'zl scomplsints; send-he readily ageeed that there' i.ever.waSa Mtiostrs-soattentive.io such:tmattkrs; butsuch-was the xtent of the co nantt:idrelatio-nb wich lhat4giopss.up in 'the eouna the mallist degree to* the co*sidSatlom of' al ~the tommtnicsrlons transmitttd to them.ispon mnatters ofbusinesea, asthey-werafrom inilividuals witboutelasiflcationor sys;ecm,as theymsuLtbeatpres*nt, they would not havetiime fordoing azytbingelse. Thetextentofthe commercial regulations which reindered such applications necemiaryj might beconjetturetlHvhess-heinibnnaed them,tthatthentlinberofei-t 66sordgulations'.ol' one kind or anotber,-sione eiceteded the wlie~ nuibe,of the-crimiinal laws of the tountry. (Hear, beir.)Cot%ldJt, therptort, be sit'- au wotltred aRtj sotindivitluaIs -rhohad- oadIc. qttate as urces of itnformation as to thei1rcourse of proceeding-4ipen- to therm, were eitber unable to- obtain retiress, or unwillinK to encoun- ter the-Iii~culty4 nay..oftep the impossibilityv,of seekting-it. (lfear, hear4) -Thetn:*as._however. another. reason which called fof the- t6n t&b1Lshmcteit*f%aChiamberiof -ilommerue-besnaldeato the general diffusion lofcotmercialknowvledg~, andeofthelprin)cipIesconwhtiilthI war,founded. -thjit~f late prearailedl. 1ice. thegsorceof litigaiofi whiich might:besparid,- if there was stn established l.ey which 6could affrd sciiriafoprveningisske(an miuconstrUlonsWn-oin. merialquetio~; Hewassur tat it Chambter of 'Con.. merce,whsch omprebnde& al the-large interests of the-,city- of ondn, oul nt fll,to e gneall beefiIa. Theme was oe oter pint n whch Itwoul he.eminntlyuseful ; andtha wis, x. a man offoclirtin acesstoGovern, maerit upon coniureal niatters. He wl nwta at pee- s4ent mercanotile individuals of high respectability-and rcefortune felt no difficulty in obtaining ac-cesis to Government, recelvixng-icnme. diate attentionr to thpir complaints, -and Droper redress; btut be was not quite clear that the samiie facilities w.ere open to people of less note; and whiy-should they stot ? All lhad %urely an equal claim ror justce ad reress. (Heir, hear.) He lamented thj at upon the ge- nerl qestonhe had the misfortune of difFerinig ftom a re- spe7cted friendi 41r. Hibbert), frotn whom, during t.wenty-fire Years of close intercourse, hie hael never differed befoare, and who had said that in the prospectus of the liew plan, he dia riot see the namnes of many of the most eminent commercial cha- racters of the city. That was certainly the fact, but he (M1r. Smith) was not in the habit, in mattters of argument, of being gove-rned by names: if thie measure appeared to him right, he cared not much1 how it stood in respect of namies--if w-rong in his judgment, no names would give to it hi- saniction. (Hear.) He had now staited his vi ew of the subject ; he had apprised them ot the part which he,together with others, had taken in the busianess; he had only, in conclustion, to ex- pres-s hisdisappointmentat the present result,and toregret thetimeand trotuble which they badl thrown away upon the discussion, And which an earlier communication from his Alajesty's Government mnight hatve spared. He had-omitted, in itsproper place,making aremark respecting the alleged facility which it -was said they aLlways had of represendringtheirTgrievanices;bhut this facility did not extend to, their ower of changing laws by which they suffered. There wia ar ink'nite difficulty in that respect,andait was alwaiysfeltwhere thley attempted to applyo for the rep6al of any existing law, and they all knew how much their property was at bazard by variots laws affecting their commercial relations, in bills of exchange,andthe tr.ansa-ction,s etween merchia-nt, factor, and buyer. (Hear, hear.) He was sorry that for the present thir obeta failed, and he would conclude -with moving the resolution wik'ch had been put into his hand. This resolution, which was merely dleclaratory of the meeting of the committee last August, to consider of the formning a Chamber of Comimerce. was seconded by M1r. Alderman BRIDGES. Mr. GEOXiGu HinnEILT rose to propose an amendiment. He premised, that he retained all the objections he hail previously ex- Pressed against the formation of the proposed Chamber of Corn. merce, although hc had the fullest conviction of the good intentioni of the gentlemen With whom the present plan had- originated. He was most ready to praise the ability, the canidour, andl the fiairrn~_& withi which his hon. friend (Mlr. Smith) had just supported an adverse opinion, and every thing which hczd the support of a man of his integrity deserved deep consideration; his intellijence was only equalled by Iiis public spirit and general benevolence,' a-id would long be respected and esteeined. From such aman he-difFered with great regret. The proposed plan was intenaed to' collect into one great focus in the metropolis, the whtole moercantile feel.. iug and interests of the cammercial bodv. Such a lila*S hagd been often considered: he remembered it was an eaxlv des-ideratum with himself when he first embarked in business-...t hiad something about it at first view striking-there was something grand and captivating in the idea; so impressed was he withi it 40 years ago, that lie applied to oldler and wiser heads than his owrn far their consideration of the subject-~.he tal-edl the matter over with the late Sir Francis Baring and Mlr. R. Atkinson, who were mnen of the first commercial knowledge of their day. They, however, dis-. countenanced the proposition, and by their arguments antd those of others equally entitledl to deference, hie became soon convinced that -the plan was injudicious, and thtat htowever expiedient it might prove in a manufacturing town, or in a place of limited commercial busi- ne-ss, it was wholly unfit andl ill adlapted for a great mercantile metropolis. (Hear, hear.) tIethoucght that in exact proportion to the excellence of the general idea of'such an establishment, would the injury arise from the attemipt to realize, and not succeed in the practical benefits which were held out from it. In fact, that any thing short of the accomplishment of the complete object would be hurtful in its consequences. The plan was absolutely itmpraLcti.. cable, if not mischiievous : it wus to collect, in one charRber., the whl ftecommercial experience of the metropolis, to concentrate isvrosinterests and separate ramifications inoOne institution,and then to make tlte body so com-posed act for one great -bject with con- isistency, harmony, andi imnpartiality. Was thiat possikle ? Wast niot expecting too' much from human regulations ? Considet wbo wrere themen whose co-operation in the promotion of tbecommont object was qadmitted tobernecessary. There were, for instatnc4,the Go.. vernorof thneBanktshe Chairman of lheEas,t-ndi C-ompany, theo)ther. heads of different great trading bodies all having distinct and sepitakes intereststosanppore. (Hear, hear.) Ererv moment which such menk' could devote trom their own private affiiirs, they were called vWpo L tL t their-superinteyeenM *hattie thn at expected thiey couldafford tothis Chamber,01 Conuerce (Her.)And if they coald afford time, he~w- was it expeted hattheywoud enterinto the general discussion&of p;,h an insttuton,divste oftheir ust predlUections, and their riat,L(ral pre- I juices (Her, har)Then of what use would be theitc co-opera. tio.-wha mralweght would the Govemnment Ot fth Patrliament attach to thirepresentations? Thediff'erent coramercialinteretls,ah alred intu~teutdo hi affairs into, the handa of these who were immdaeycnctdwh them,and whobest kntewhow to pursue theiralir.Weth Government were dfealng with these bodies, they knew what the% were about,'and had an opportunity of accurately c.;timatirg the relative value of each Btream which sup- plied the broad commnercial channel of the roumitry. WM,l the pre- sent sYstemi was pursued, each commercial interest had its own way open, and all were on the samne footing. Governmenthad the meansof estimating and comparing their relative interests, and squaring-them with the whole interest of the commiunity. Government atpresent had the advantage of getting itsirtformation at first hand from the parcties' who thought themselves -aggrieved-..they could only get it at siectmd. handthrough the Chamberef C-ommerce Wlhyr, then, this r'oundabout way of going to work? (Hlear.) Hfe insisted- that every practica advantage sought to be derived itrom the proposed plan was of easier and safeir attainment without its adoption, and that the Government were always ready to listen with attenition to complaints of mercan.. tile grievanece. Lord Liverpool was, he knew, always ready to dis-. cuss, and most competent to consii er such topics. His speeches, contained volumes of coimmercial information which wa& of the highest value. The sam reaidiness was always evinced by, the other members of Government connected with subjects of trade._16.y the Chancellor of the Exchequer, by, Mr. Huskisson, Mr. Wallace5 and othiers. In what better way could they appr-oach them fromi tbe proposedt chamber of commerce ? They could not always, hope or unanimity-tAhey might go up to the Governmnent with a prolu.aition carried by 12 to 14, or bv thecasting vote of the chairman, AUi would that give additioaal weight. to their application ? How QJlj.d thevex Pect the Government wvould itteud to this coinpendl~ous rm-e of classifying applicationsp They might as well toll a itra such a ber3on, suppose, as Sir James Main a ad be engaged in an historical work-what wou'.d be5 thought of telling him-" D)on't consult the partictslarrecoras in the national achives . don't refer to the particular commnentaLtors who have discssdthe -ubjects on which You must treat.-.on't compare thei wsruespeectiv& testimoniez; go at once to the good COMPendious abridgments, such as Dr. Goldsmikh's, and you wrill there find enough to en-. able you to form your judgment." (A laugh.) They Miliht jutas well expect that recommendation to have weight with Sir Jaes M%acintosh1 as that a chamber Of e8mmlerce in London cDuld give additional wveight to the mercantile interests in theltrcommuni.. c-ations with his Mej~esty's Government. These werm his mature opinions u on the subject;- and having shortly eyiese them he' beggedtoe understwd as not cas9ting the slightest aspeso upo the respectable gentlemen who had endeaLvoured to carry this Isn ynou operation. He knew,them so be pe-rsonsfthe fltresp3ecab-ilitay,2anntd whiowere attu2tcdby alaudable zeal.toprormote the commlercial inter- ests; but theexperienceofsuchePublicbodiesshowedhowsoontheprit. cipal Promoters g-ave way to others, and how often the Ultimate ma. nagemiest devolved upos a few whlowere either uhfl6ttobe intrusted with it, or whio were, too anxious to assunee the control for mnotives Of a personal nature. fHis honourable friend had remarked -upon the complicated embarrassmnents,-in the excise and elsewhere, which maw affected the mercantile bodY ; but was he not aLware that man~y of these harassing regulations were now under the reviaioii of his Majesty's Governiment, anid would no doubt be amended? (Hear, hear.) He had also talked of* the ignorance of thie commercial boai of the proper way of mnanaging their own afflitirs. He (Atir. EHibbert was at a loss to see where thits ignorance was so manifecst ? They ha by degrees become, notwithstanding every foreat obstacle andrnut. nicipali'ntpediment,she greatest com-mercial nation on thet2aceof the carth,-that progrers, when carried on by themselves, did- not jihia. trate the opinion of their ignorance, or their incaplacity to condluct their ow6n affairs, andt he w-as therefore rather diaposed to doubt the correctness of his bon, friend's inforiuation upon that poinit. (Hear.) On the whole, he thought it would be rauch better to leave- them to, conduct their afis'ira as they had hitherto d one, with advantage to thesevesan geerl tiu~yto hecontr.y. He should therefore coneudey mvingas n aendmnt..."That itis inthe opinion of thi nietog,nertdento pocedfrter,underasiycircumstances in te etabishentof Chmbe ofComerc inthe city of Lon- M--r.- Tox-seonedth aendment, and declsreolbjsqp~inion, that nothing could he less useftul thank the establishment of this. Chamber of Commerce, or. sabre- likely,utider particular circeum. stances, to be generally mischievous. On the question upon the amendment being put fronm thie cbair... Mr. FISESEUPSELD defended the course which had, been taLkep for the establishment of a ChAmber of Commerce, antd 4eclarvistdhina.. diness tot juistify the mibtives which hiad dictated the cowdiuetof thsc gentlemen who had originated theinss .Wt vry spth the general o6mniierial knowledgeof:.t.he city of London, an~ v disoiint ldlltMjsysG netthe -fulltcU to thei desre o failitte omtnrtlaol,eets hewas still flyii- thecit o Lodon t asia~ d$.tiig mercantile inforaint thos dities ho wre i ab~hrtewait of. specific. kitowlelec- nected- with their ders neet winLg -t6 ikewultiaiu n conflicting laws whic dil fctAteir.: pwperty ina inaSnottis. chant artor ,.tht tsne5 ~tn~ ?b facti-canniected with- mer- eisievons~o~e~s; andbe-jh th h b. 0] laito% markot, merchants w~treflabI ytoe - - were inexistenice t osti eom e itret pu iheirbhQdyoDf power hnndsayt hs eoietwrWs ofteu were interpos taaus hnef a.~bgrdisclu-n. sioi to SAY, that 16iiifteyatipttteria ofhe time whii-bbls-te Gv dentaa tohe c1tyofn tLondnh would ftelitD ah chatinbe* of commerce was big with much mischie?. . U prefernea allo7ein'tbe'ditresjr-n.injrcautjIe 'ases' to tuke izre.'thiir 'ownl separate interestsw thar7-was the natural, and, he7believed', the moreI efficient -course. . Aiuh proposetF 'plan Swould, hc wspettatle'd; if: carriediisnto cffect~ compromise tlniindepthdence of individuals, and mnake-them subservient to thea)redominaring inflnence of this cham- ber of :cbmwerce; for. who vould venture to oppose such a bod when once fully established?. Heshould, therefore, support rhe arnendment u - - Mr. Jo1 HAI,L defended the conmmittee and the formatiof of the proposed cluamber of commerce. He entertained the most con. v.ncing reasods for'the ne&slsitv-of its eatablishhtn'ct, after-maturedy weighing che advantages whith~ wgre observab]e both in distant parts zof Ureret Britain, and in foreign countries. from similar-iastitutions-. He-had heard this. daynothing to change his opinion ipon. such poiit* sand he knsew no .moment whichl -was- in eyery respect so fitf foS the 'fonnation of the' institution as.the pretent,:when the co-operation of all commercial classes eould so easily be had with mutual'obenefit.- The a'lvantages of the measure vvere,he hwould rtend,'obvious-his own experience in business convinced himef them; for he often met meniho, upon essential points, were indisposeita: makeexertions forthe redress of commercial griev- anoes,-b Itwho athter 'suffered injurv and injustice thanwexpose themselves tothe-risk of being marked:for opposingthe act ofsome public bdgrsd;asid-exposed to sonie fFuture impedime6t in the trans. action oktheirbtusiness. -To sbow the looset and irregular weight, of commrnetial busines towhicbhthe Governmentwerenow. exposed,from ithe- wantof aisy inastitution which could nr-ngo; and guide the neces- sary applicafions, he-could'6tate, that during, the la4t year 26,M)0 PapertS;hed.beettrXnSUiittedto 'tle PrivvyCouncilregarding revenue -mattems s. (Heaau) Bow was it possible Government could either consider or -digest such a multitude of papers? And how compara- tively easywould it be to do so, if t proper system of sroceeding in such cases were laid down by a body competent to act in such mat- ters. {-Hear.) M1r. FuREEsE deprecatedthe sweeping meaning of tle arnendment, which went to' say, that under no eircdfrnstances ought a chambatof commerce to be established, So far rorn concurring in such a pro- position, be believed the'eelablishment . would be salutarv in the ope- ration:. nottshat he meant to press the institution until more unani- mity could be obtained among tho mercantile classes, and until they -were able -re !remove- the objections stated by his, Majesty's Go. .ernment. .lr. CoLVI-rLLE was of opinion, that whatever inconveniences were felt at present by certain comnmercial difficulties, tbey were not likely to be remedied by the establishmnent of this chember of cotnmmrce. 'They could at all times caU public meetings whenever their interests required such a, proceeding; but in principle he had a decided objection to the proposed plan, which would, lie thought, if carriedinto eftect, be found misebievous, However fair such plans were staTted-however respectable were the men among whom they originated, they were mostly found in the end to devolve upon'the management-of a few individuals who had interested motives to guidethem. 'Heshould certainlysupporttbeamendment. Mlr. Wo-oAsvTos0highly approved ofwhathadbeendonebythe committee, and said that Tnuch misrepresentation had gone abroad respct ing their objects. Their sole object was to give effect by x co- herent plan to the -complaints of commercial men, and to enable them, under a proper system, to erbedy their measures, and to found them upon. the best information which the institution could com. mnand. He knew that there were many separate interests which were 'well represented in thc city of London; bat were there not also a variety of cases in which a union of efforts was desirable, and how valuable a depository would not this chamber of comnmerce be for, conveying information, and defraying those expenses, which indi- viduals could neither 'well cive nor defray ? After a few words in explanation from Mr. J. SMITHx and Mr. HrBnEsRsT, in which the former said that the machinery of the pre- posed institution was calculated to prevent the abuse of management :urm;ced, the 9uestior was pat, when the amendment was nega- tived by a majority of about one.third ofthe meeting. The original declaratory resolution was then put and carried. Other resolutions were then severallv adopted, (see advertise- ment.)-The meeting then broke up. -_I LORDON cRHAMA OP eOMMREI