In the Covfereuce Hall of the Colin-dories, as this year's exhibition at Brompton is grotesquely called, there was held on the Gth of July the first the Chambers of Commerce Empire, delegates having beau invited from all over the world, and about 150 gentlemen being present, Mr, H. J. Tritton, the President of the London Chamber, was in the chair, and the first incident was the reading of a paper by the Seoretary of the High Commissioner for Canada on " Emigrasubject which one would think was almost outside the functions of Chambers of Commerce, This was fol-
Jowed by the unanimous adoption of a resolution urging the British and Co-Governments to encourage emigration to British colonies; and then Sir James Anderson, once a captain in the Cunard Service, then commander of the Great Eastern, and now one of the great author on submarine tolegraphis, road a paper on "Telegraph Reform." Ho urged that the governments most interested should guarantee a general dividend of four per cent. to the existing submarine cable companies, whioh would enable large reductions to be made in the tariffs, and would lead to such an increase in the traffic, that extensions would be readily paid for without subventions or subsidy but considering how shamofally the money has been wasted, and the stock of some of the companies watered, it is very unlikely that such a suggestion would be adopted. Ho then fell foul of the present code-system, which he declared to be unfair, and illegal, and destined before long toan abrupt ending. It is not however ay enjoyment of the labour ofcompiling and deciphering cipher messager, that has impelled merchants to the use of codes, but the prohibitory cost of telegraphing in plain language; and us long as submarine lines can pay a fair dividend to their shareholders under the present system, it is not likely that cipher messages will be prohibited, nor would it be practicable, The ingenuity of man would find a way of conveying a hidden meaning in an apparently simple despatch. It is only a certain percentage on their business that mor chants can afford to spend in tele. graphing about' it; and if messages were obliged to be longer, fewer of them would be sent. Sir Jumes went on to say that if the governments of the world agreed to his suggestion of a guaranteed dividend, they would all be interested, even in time of war, in securing the cables from harm; but it is obvious that no such consideration would stop goverment, at war, from cutting a cable if it nw a large present advantage in the act, The speaker pointed out that the only real security was in having alternative routes, and in being always prepared to lay strategical cables, when necessary. Sab-marine cables, he farther remarked, should always be laid on the frequented tracks at sen; and long stretches should be avoided, as they were as ensy to cut as short ones, and far more difficult tu ropnir. It did not seem to strike Sir James Anderson that these two recommendations would often neutralise each other. His paper was followed by a resolution, urging upon the Govern. mont the reduction of beyond-sea postal and telegraph charges, and the neutral usation of cables. he Marquis of Lorne came next, with a paper on Im. perial Federation; but this question has been so thrashed out in the last few mouths, that we do not propose to devote any time to it now. Sir Charles Tupper, Sir Alexander Gulf, Saul Samuel took part in the sion, the last throwing a considerable amount of cold water on the subject, by stating that "before any commercial federation could be om plished, free trade must be established between England and her colonies." This is much too large an order to take in hand at once, The resolution which followed was more practical than the discussion, being chiefly to the effect that the representatives in London of the colonies should be consulted in fature, before commercial treaty wore saltied; a perfectly harmless proposition, The Codification of Commercial Law was the next subject Laudled, the opening paper being read by Professor Leone Lo There is no doubt that the historian of the fatare will regard with amazement the patience with which the English-speaking peoples endure the present condition of their Law, and ils "ungodly jumble": bat when, if ever, really energetic steps will be taken to revise and codify it, it is impossible to say. The nece for codification is 60 undeniably obvious, that we need not dwell on This closed the business for the first day.
The second day's proceedings were opened with a speech by Mr. Pearson Bill on Postal Reform. The chief object of his speech was to urge that the Postal Union rate of 2}d. should be extended to the colorness; and indeed it is a little irritating that we, the pioneers in.postal reform, should now ing behind France and' the United States, as we do; a reproach that is no doubt really due to the excess of red tape in the General Post Office, Lon don, and its effective ignorance of the advantages which competing countries offer to their citizens at the public cost. Unfortunately, our Post Office service has become a material source of revenue to the T'reasury, which it should never have been allowed to be, and the Treasury is in arms at once if conces sions to the public are proposed, that would endanger the present revenue, Mr, George Baden-Powell followed with a long and interesting paper on State Guarantees of War Riske at sea, The subject is toe vast for us to hope to treat it properly in this brief notice bat the writer scerne to have omitted to consider the room that would be loft for fraud and evasion, if the State under. took to pay for all private property captured or destroyed at soa by an enemy. As aualtoruative, Mr, Baden Powell recommended the abolition of the anti-privateering articles of the Declaration of Paris, whioh would be fol. lowed by the gonoral arming of British merchantmen, The subject was ree legated to the Organising Committee, Next come the burning question of Bi-metallism, opened by the reading of paper by Mr. Huoke Gibbs, in whioh the stock arguments of the hi-metalliste were once wore energetically advanced, He was opposed by Mr. Willinm Fowler, who strongly depreonted the interfor= ence of governments with financial questions, using the Bland Act io the
deal to intensify the evils it was met United States, which. had done a Great to cure, as a warning. The coal fall in prices, he urged, was mainly due to the "vast ingenuity of man always working to diminish space and time." Mr, Bothell, of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, followed on the same side, and said that he had been sent with instractions from his Chamber to vole against hi-metallism in the intereste of India, Mr. Adamson of Singapore took a similar view, and afler a long discussion, a resolation in favour of the re-monetisation of silver was put to the vote and loot by 15 votes to 14, a very close division, the voting being according to one account, by Ohambors, and not by delegates and carried by majority of 28 to 15, according to an= other, Cho last subject before the meats ing wns the question of Bill of Lading Reform, to which we propose to refer at another time. On the whole this meet~ ing of the Congress did not assume a very practical shape, but allowance must be made for ita being the fret
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.