close relation with the Chambers of Commerce throughout the republic.

In Great Britain, Boards of Trade date from the time of Charles II, but no association with the name of Chamber of Commerce was established till 1783, when one was founded in Glasgow, followed by one in Edinburgh in 1785, and a third in London in 1882.

Modern Chambers of Commerce appeared in Germany about the middle of the nineteenth century, but are under the control of the government and may be dissolved by it at any time. In Austria they are also under the control of the government, are regulated by law, and elect members to the House of Representatives.

When on April 5, 1768, twenty merchants of the little colonial city of New York came together to form a mercantile union it was amid conditions that must have banished from their minds all thought of connection of any kind with the existing government. They had been for three years united in a series of protests against governmental action. The very air they breathed was charged with the spirit of freedom and independence, of revolt against official domination. The success of their union for protest had doubtless inspired them with the idea of a commercial union for the protection and promotion of their business interests. They had deliberately crippled those interests rather than submit to denial of their rights and liberties by the government, and their chief purpose in coming together was to form a united front in case of further struggles of the same kind.

The way in which they proceeded to effect an organization showed that they had come together with a clearly defined purpose and with a well-prepared plan. A declaration was submitted and adopted that "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 pro

curing such laws and regulations as may be found necessary for the benefit of trade in general," the twenty persons present had convened to establish such a society.

It was agreed that the society should consist of a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary and such number of merchants as already had or afterward might become members, and should be called and known by the name of "The New York Chamber of Commerce." Without delay the meeting proceeded to elect the officers of the new society, choosing unanimously the following: John Cruger, President; Hugh Wallace, Vice-President; Elias Desbrosses, Treasurer; and Anthony Van Dam, Secretary. Resolutions were adopted declaring that meetings should be held on the first Tuesday of every month, that quarterly meetings should be held in May, August, November, and February each year, at which the accounts of the Chamber of Commerce should be settled and ballots taken for the admission of new members. It was decreed that each member should pay an admission fee of five Spanish dollars and quarterly dues of one Spanish dollar.

The primitive character of the community was strikingly revealed in the decree that a proper room for the meetings of the Chamber should "be provided at the expense of the members so that it doth not exceed one shilling per man, which each person is to pay to the Treasurer at their respective meetings."

The city at that time had only twenty thousand inhabitants and its northern limits stopped at the present City Hall. Contemporary prints show that it had the appearance of a provincial town of the present day, with two and three story buildings, abundant shade-trees and generous lawns about the dwelling-houses, many of them extending down to the water-fronts. The value of the entire property of the city was less than that of a single one of many blocks in lower Broadway in 1918, and its entire population was not equal

to that of two of the great modern office-buildings in the same section. The founders held their meeting in the principal coffee-house or restaurant in a building known as Fraunces's Tavern, which still exists, restored to its original form, under that historic name. As it was the first home of the Chamber, and its first sessions were held there in a room which remains virtually unchanged to-day, a brief history of it is given in another chapter.

The full text of the resolutions adopted at the first meeting of the Chamber, together with the names of the twenty founders, will be found in the Appendix of this volume. Historians have spoken of 1768 as the year of hope and promise and the beginning of the golden age of the colonial period. The twenty gentlemen who came together on that April evening were the recognized leaders of the community, true representatives of its social and political life as well as of its commercial activities. Their names reveal the cosmopolitan character of the city, for in them can be traced Dutch, English, Scotch, Irish, Danish, German, and other lineage. Many of these names, passed on from honored father to worthy son, have persisted to this day, made familiar, not only by the presence of descendants, but in the nomenclature of the city's thoroughfares. They and their descendants have been the writers of the city's history through many years, for in the proceedings of the society which they founded can be traced every important step of its growth in numbers, wealth, and power.

First President of the Chamber of Commerce.

Painted by Thomas Hicks in 1865 from an original miniature. Collection of the Chamber of Commerce.