CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND BOARDS OF TRADE.

1. PHILADELPHIA BOARD OF TRADE-EUROPEAN LINE OF STEAMERS. 2. BUFFALO BOARD OF TRADE-DEDICATION OF THEIR NEW ROOMS. 3. IRON TRADE MEETING.

PHILADELPHIA BOARD OF TRADE-EUROPEAN LINE OF STEAMERS.

OUR Philadelphia friends are now working with considerable earnestness and fair prospects of success, to establish a European line of steamships, hoping thus to reestablish the foreign trade of that city. This subject was brought to the notice of the Board of Trade of Philadelphia, at their meeting held on the 26th of May last, by Mr. GEORGE L. BUZBY, who remarked in substance as follows:

That the want of steamships for this port (Philadelphia), especially on European lines, had long been felt. The war now raging had for a time suspended every species of mercantile enterprise, but so imperious is our need of such vessels, that our attention cannot long be withdrawn from, their construction and employment.

Philadelphia has been slow, too slow in this matter. The encroaching arrogance of a neighboring city, claims mints, air-line railroads, ship canals, &c., &c., at the general expense for her own exclusive benefit. This we would resist by building up our own commerce. Our magnificent river invites us to maritime enterprise. Through it we shall best counteract that spirit of monopoly, which would limit to a few what should be shared by all.

Without steamships our superior railroad connections do not profit us as they should. We want more outlet for the teeming products of the Northwest, and of our own manufactories. Our river is our highway to the world. Let us place upon it the ships.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company comprehends this matter thoroughly. She has been compelled too long to pro rate with eastern transportation lines on produce which should have stopped and found a market here. She cannot see with satisfaction the attempts to arrest and bear away to another city, the freight moving upon her own rails. Her interests demand that this city should be her real terminus. With this view she builds her great grain elevator, lays her tracks to the river, and constructs her spacious docks at the foot of Washington street. Furthermore, she now leads in bringing the project of the Randall European Steamship Line to a practical solution. Under her powerful auspices, the business of the line will be assured and permanent. Nor let it be forgotten, that with the aid of the Randall ships we shall import not only for Philadelphia, but Baltimore, Cincinnati, &c., &c.

In this great undertaking, the Railroad Company asks the co-operation of our citizens, because all are interested. The merchant needs not to be told how deeply it concerns him. Nor yet the manufacturer. Our

bankers must anticipate with pleasure the volume of exchanges consequent upon a growing and mighty trade. The owner of real estate knows that good rents from prompt and willing tenants can only be had where commerce thrives. The mechanic plies his craft with most success in bustling cities, and even the painter and the sculptor resort to marts where commerce accumulates the wealth which fosters genius.

Having delayed so long to build these vessels, we should avail ourselves of what experience has been teaching meanwhile. We must have none but the best. The Randall ship combines in a degree hitherto unknown the elements of speed, safety, economy and comfort. This vessel then should be our choice.

It only remains to invite our citizens to come forward and each in his degree to lend his aid. Already some of our enterprising men have liberally subscribed for the stock of this steamship line. There is yet room for more. It is seldom that a project of such favorable promise is offered to the public. Under the powerful protection and aid of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the friction incident to a new, undertaking will, in the present instance, be speedily overcome. It is easy to see how invaluable an ally is a great freight and passenger railroad to a first class steamship line with which it connects. They play reciprocally into each other's hands, the one supporting the other. Let us then come up to this work. If we will only use our opportunities, there is no degree of commercial eminence to which our city may not aspire, and in the end command. The prizes of trade are all within our reach, but they will not come to us unsought. We must be up and doing. We can do longer afford to wait.

The gentleman closed by offering the following, which were adopted :— Whereas, It becomes more evident daily that the commerce of this port can never receive its just development without the more extended use of steamships, built and owned by ourselves--and

Whereas, Without that developement every species of property in our city must be deprived of healthy growth and increase--and

Whereas, Our magnificent railroad connections with the interior cannot avail us as they should so long as we lack the best facilities for bearing away from our wharves the products of our own country, and bringing hither those of the old world-and

Whereas, It is understood that the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, with its accustomed energy, is prepared to take liberally of the stock of the first steamship of the Randall patent, to ply between this port and Europe, provided our citizens will do likewise. Therefore,

Resolved, That every material interest of our people, whether mercantile, manufacturing, or real estate, being directly concerned in the establishment of European steamship lines from this port, we again invite the co-operation of our citizens in this work, revived as it now is, under new and unusually favorable auspices.

Resolved, That the thanks of this community are due to the enterprising men who have recently come forward and subscribed to this great and necessary undertaking.

An article in the North American, of the 7th of July, shows the present condition of this enterprize. The writer says:

"There still lacks a portion of the amount required to complete the

subscription to the capital stock of the first great steamship of the Randall European line; and although the public sentiment in its favor seems to be overwhelming, and in the course of time there will be no difficulty in obtaining all the money needed for four or six first class ocean steamers, yet it is now a matter of the utmost importance that this comparatively small amount of money should be subscribed promptly, in order that the building of the mammoth ship may be at once commenced, as it will take seven or eight months to complete her. We are sure that when our commercial readers reflect on the vast importance of a superior line of European steamships in order to re-establish the foreign trade of Philadelphia, and that this present effort has the support and confidence of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, with all its immense capital and influence, of some of the leading banking houses and bankers in this city, parties controlling millions of capital and commanding the influence of many of the firmest and business concerns of this metropolis, and that it has been unanimously endorsed by the Board of Trade, which is the organized representative of the commerce of the city, they will feel no hesitation whatever in doing all they can to insure its immediate success."

BUFFALO BOARD OF TRADE-DEDICATION OF THEIR NEW ROOMS. The Buffalo Commercial Advertiser tells us that on the 26th of June a large gathering of merchants, members of the bar and press, and citizens generally, met at the new rooms of the Buffalo Board of Trade-where an elegant and bountiful collation of meats, fruits, wines, &c., had been provided-and were addressed as follows by the President of the Board, G. S. HAZARD, Esq.:

Gentlemen: We have met here to-day to resucitate the Buffalo Board of Trade, to invigorate it with new life, to incite it to increased usefulness, and to dedicate this beautiful and appropriate hall to trade and commerce. I congratulate you on this auspicious commencement of a new era. It betokens a determination to re-establish this institution on a reliable and permanent foundation, and as it was the first organization of this character west of the city of New York, let it be your endeavor to make it first in usefulness.

Associations under the name of boards of trade and chambers of commerce exist in nearly all the commercial cities in this country and in Europe, and the advantages derived from them are being more and more appreciated by business men; so much so that in the successful prosecution of an extensive business, an institution of this character, with a daily 'Change, is considered indispensable. There is an absolute necessity for a common meeting ground where merchants can assemble at an established hour to interchange views and opinions, bargain, buy and sell, and discuss matters of business generally.

A daily 'Change is like a great labor-saving machine, and if time is money, then it is a money-making institution. It presents the best means for promoting that kind of social intercourse, confidence, good will, and unity of interests which are so desirable among business men, and parti

cularly among neighbors. In view of these advantages you only discharge a duty to yourselves in promptly sustaining the daily 'Change; but in doing so let us look a little higher and beyond the mere personal benefit or convenience it may be to individuals, and take an enlarged view of the purposes of the institution, for the question is frequently asked, "What are the objects of a Board of Trade?" Permit me, briefly, to answer this question. The objects and purposes of a Board of Trade are not only the daily routine of 'Change, but to establish and promote equitable principles and laws of trade, to reform abuses, correct inconvenient and useless customs, and establish those more in accordance with the spirit of the age; to establish a tribunal for settling disputes among its members without resort to expensive and vexatious litigation, and generally to protect the interests of the mercantile classes. Gentlemen, these motives and objects are noble in their character and worthy of your highest consideration and care. The observance of them will tend to elevate the character of your institution, and leave such land-marks and beacon lights as may serve to guide your successors in the business you are pursuing. In the minor details of your board there should be a daily exhibit of the state of your market as well as the markets of those cities with which you are in constant intercourse-the import and export as well as inland movement of all the great staples of the country-weekly and monthly statements of receipts and shipments, and yearly returns of the general business, commercial, manufacturing, and banking of your city, and in fact all statistical matter which can be of any use to the members of your board. In order to carry out these and other kindred measures which may be considered beneficial and necessary to the prosperity of this board, I ask the business men of Buffalo, one and all, to give it their earnest support and co-operation-not hesitatingly and unwillingly, but freely and liberally-for you cannot afford to economize in this matter. There is an old and favorite adage, that "in union there is strength." The truth of this has been exemplified in various ways and is still being demonstrated.

If it is a good maxim in war and politics, it is sound in commerce, and should be the motto of the mercantile classes. That a large and intelligent community owe a duty to themselves to establish an identity of interests, an union, which shall give them strength and make their voice and acts potential. Questions affecting commercial interests are frequently brought before Congress and State Legislatures, but who ever heard of a member of one of those august bodies consulting and advising with merchants on subjects concerning their most vital interests? They seem to be considered outsiders-no politicians, and of course are considered to know nothing of legislation. Heaven forbid that they should know much of this modern science. I admit that business men are not infallible, but it seems to me that legislators would be better able to frame useful laws touching the commerce of the country if they would more frequently consult men who have gained their knowledge by experience.

Without an organization you have no power-no voice. With it, you may possibly be heard on questions affecting the interest of the commercial community.

Gentlemen, this Board of Trade is not exclusive in its character; it was not organized for the benefit of any particular class of business men; it is intended for the entire mercantile community, which embraces all who

buy, sell, and get gain, and I would most respectfully invite the merchants, manufacturers, millers, bankers, and other business and professional men of this city to become members of this Board. It is directly for your interest to sustain this institution with a liberal spirit-the tax is not an onerous one, and the benefits, if wisely conducted, are incalculable. It must be made a useful business concern; it will then become popular and necessary for every merchant of good standing, (for none other is wanted here,) to belong to it.

The past year, so full of thrilling and painful events to our country, has been one of unexampled prosperity to our city, and shows the immense strides it is making in wealth and commercial importance. Permit me to go back only twenty-five years, when the entire receipts of breadstuffs at this port amounted to only about one million of bushels. Ten years later the receipts had increased to thirteen millions of bushelsthe next decade gave us over twenty-two millions of bushels; five years later, bringing us down to 1861, the returns show the enormous receipt of fiftyeight millions of bushels, and many other articles have increased in proportion. As no other port on the face of the earth can compare with this, Buffalo stands unrivalled.

Situated at the eastern terminus of this great chain of inland seas, she sits like a queen receiving the tithes and offerings of vast possessions. The boundless West, pouring out its millions of bushels of golden grain, is but an infant giant growing stronger and more muscular year by year. The increasing business and rapidly developing resources of that mighty empire will astonish future generations as it has surprised the present.

The marvelous riches of the Indies, which made opulent so many cities of the Old World, sink into insignificance when compared with the stupendous agricultural and mineral wealth of the inexhaustible West.

Gentlemen, the lines have fallen unto you in pleasant places; you have a goodly heritage; it is for you to protect and foster it. You are the commercial representatives of this fair city. On you, perhaps more than on any other class, depends her future prosperity, good name, and position among her sister cities. Let, then, your course be progressive in every commendable effort to sustain and increase the good reputation she enjoys, and by your high standard of dealing and laudable ambition reflect honor on the character of your institution.

At the conclusion of the President's address, which was received with great applause, a letter was read from GEORGE C. WHITE, Esq., President of White's Bank, who presented to the meeting five baskets of champagne, accompanied by the following sentiment:

The Buffalo Board of Trade: May its meetings always be harmonious and mutually advantageous, and its members always prosperous and happy.

The sentiment was greeted vociferously, and the President, opening the first bottle of champagne, poured for Ex-President FILLMORE, Hon N. K. HALL, and DEAN RICHMOND, Esq., who sat beside him, and filling his own glass, rose and drank with the guests.

Mr. WILLIAMS then came forward and gave "The health and long life of the Ex-President of the United States, Hon. MILLARD FILLMORE," which called forth a storm of plaudits.