118 COMMERCIAL CONVENTIONS. 



sold by parcel or package ; recommending uni- 

 formity in the instruments used in conveyances 

 of land, and the appointment of a committee 

 to prepare and recommend to the several State 

 Legislatures a bill securing such change ; also 

 the passage of a law securing uniformity in 

 the practice of District Courts of the United 

 States in relation to the collection of debts. 

 An animated discussion arose on the resolution 

 to memorialize the different State Legislatures 

 to repeal all laws discriminating against non- 

 resident traders. On one side it was held that 

 it was an effort on the part of the large Eastern 

 cities to extend their trade into the smaller 

 cities of the "West and South, without paying 

 any tax thereon, and that the removal of all 

 restrictions would be a discrimination against 

 the home-trader; on the other hand it was 

 contended that the spirit of the age demanded 

 a domestic free trade, and an enlightened com- 

 mercial sentiment to which such restrictions 

 were hostile. The resolution was adopted, by 

 a vote of 41 to 12. 



The diversity of views in the convention on 

 the question of national finances caused a 

 general discussion of this subject. The majority 

 report of the Committee on the Resumption 

 of Specie Payments recommended to Congress 

 the issue of four per cent, bonds, payable in 

 thirty years, principal and interest in gold, 

 which may be exchanged for greenbacks at 

 par, the greenbacks to be thus withdrawn, 

 until the amount outstanding does not exceed 

 $300,000,000, and all thus withdrawn to be 

 cancelled ; also that national banks be required 

 by law to retain the coin received for interest 

 on bonds deposited to secure their circulation, 

 until specie payments be resumed. After an 

 extended debate this portion of the majority 

 report was rejected, and the Board adopted 

 only the first resolution, which declares a be- 

 lief in the imperative necessity of the resump- 

 tion of specie payments. Resolutions were 

 adopted, asking Congress to establish a new 

 department of the Government, known as the 

 Department of Commerce, to which shall be 

 referred all questions connected with the for- 

 eign and domestic trade and transportation of 

 the country; requesting Congress to adopt 

 measures for the construction of a ship-canal 

 around the falls of Niagara, connecting Lake 

 Erie and Lake Ontario ; to make appropria- 

 tion for the removal of obstacles to navigation 

 on the Mississippi River and its tributaries ; to 

 prescribe such regulations for the construction 

 of bridges over these rivers as will best pro- 

 mote the interests of their nagivation, and to 

 recommend a uniform coinage among the com- 

 mercial nations of the world. 



The subject of the transportation of freight 

 between the West and the East was prominent 

 in the discussions of the Board. A proposition 

 was made, that Congress be requested to 

 charter a double-track railroad between the 

 centre of the "Western grain-producing country 

 and the Atlantic seaboard, to be used ex- 



CONGREGAT10NALISTS. 



clusively for carrying freight, and to fix the 

 rates of freight thereon. The superior ad- 

 vantages of water-lines were also strongly 

 advocated, and it was argued that the canals 

 necessary for a water-line between the West 

 and the East should be enlarged and steam 

 introduced, which would lead to a great reduc- 

 tion in the rates of freight. 



The next meeting of the National Board of 

 Trade will be held at Buffalo, N. Y., on the 1st 

 of December, 1870. 



At all of these conventions the attendance 

 was large, good feeling and harmony pervaded 

 the discussions, and measures having an im- 

 portant bearing upon the commercial interests 

 of the country were adopted with unanimity. 



CONGREGATIONALISTS. The principal 

 object of the American Congregational Union, 

 though not so contemplated directly in the 

 first place, "is now," it is stated in the report 

 for 1868, " and is likely to be for many years 

 to come," to aid new and feeble Congregational 

 Churches in their efforts to build themselves 

 houses of worship. It has begun to give es- 

 pecial attention to points on the railroads 

 across the continent, and to those on other 

 important routes through newly-opened re- 

 gions. It will also extend its field so as to aid 

 in building parsonages. The sixteenth anni- 

 versary was held in Brooklyn, N. Y., on the 

 13th of May. The receipts for the year had 

 been $53,629.71. There had been paid, in 

 appropriations to 67 churches, $28,690.35. 

 Appropriations were pledged to 31 churches, 

 amounting to $13,200. Of the rest, $9,721.46 

 had been spent for salaries, and there was 

 an unexpended balance of $2,017. Sixty -five 

 churches had been completed during the 

 year, with the aid of the Association. The 

 average amount of funds furnished to each 

 church was $412. The Union hopes to con- 

 solidate all the contributions of the congre- 

 gations in. aid of feeble churches, and to 

 arrive at the means of making a fair and equi- 

 table division among all applicants, so thaf none 

 shall be preferred at the expense of another, 

 and the congregations may not be annoyed by 

 special appeals or the solicitations of travelling 

 agents. 



The purpose of the " American Congrega- 

 tional Association" is to establish in Boston, 

 "near the old and first home of the Puritans," 

 a " home " for the 3,000 ministers and 300,000 

 members of the Congregational churches, 

 where may be gathered all the books, pam- 

 phlets, engravings, prints, manuscripts, and 

 other mementos of the Puritan fathers, to. 

 form the nucleus of a great Congregational 

 Library, where may be provided " a place for 

 consultation, for mutual intercourse, for greet- 

 ings," and to provide in the building "a symbol, 

 a centre of Congregationalism," a location for 

 its societies, and centres of correspondence. At 

 the last annual meeting (the sixteenth), which 

 was held in Boston, on the 25th of May, the 

 association resolved " that no time ought to be 



