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ANFORD LIBRARY

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

FROM MAY, 1879, TO MAY, 1880.

The 111th Annual Meeting, Thursday, May 1, 1879.

THE one hundredth and eleventh annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held this day, at one o'clock, P. M., at the Rooms of the Chamber, No. 63 William-street.

PRESENT.

SAMUEL D. BABCOCK, President.
GEORGE WILSON, Secretary.

And a quorum of members.

The minutes of the last regular meeting, held April 3, were read and approved.

THE DEATH OF GENERAL JOHN A. DIX.

On motion of Mr. JACKSON S. SCHULTZ, the regular order of business was suspended to permit the Chamber to take appropriate action in regard to the death of General JOHN A. DIX.

ADDRESS OF MR. A. A. LOW.

Mr. A. A. Low addressed the Chamber as follows:

MR. PRESIDENT: As we meet here to-day, we are called to lament the loss by death of one of the noblest and best of our fellow citizens, whose long and useful life was devoted to the service of his city, his State and his country; to the welfare of man, and to the praise of God.

JOHN ADAMS DIX, (more familiarly known as JOHN A. Dix,) who died on Monday, the 21st ultimo, was elected as an honorary

member of this body on the 19th of April, 1861-a memorable day in our own history and that of our country. It was then that the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New-York, setting aside all distinctions of party, pledged itself to the support of the Government of the United States, and appointed a Committee to raise funds to carry on the war that had become imminent, in view of the crisis which events in the South had precipitated on the country. All who are familiar with the proceedings which followed the proclamation of the President of the United States, on the 15th of April, and the appointment of the Committee above referred to, will recollect that it was almost immediately merged in another, appointed by the citizens of New-York, and that the two, forming one organization, became known as the "Union Defence Committee." Gen. Dix was elected President of the Association, and continued to act in that capacity till called to other duties. On retiring, his services were acknowledged in a series of appropriate resolutions. Thus, the name of the departed patriot and statesman will ever be associated with a period of peculiar interest in the history of this Chamber; and it is but natural that we should wish to place on our records some memorial of the man who filled so many distinguished offices in the service of his State and country, shedding lustre upon all; and to mark by what methods and by what manly virtue he rose to such distinction among his fellow men.

Of course this is not the time nor the place to do even partial justice to one who was so eminent and exemplary throughout his public and private career; but the impress of such a life upon the age in which he lived is precious, and we may not permit the event which brings it to a close to pass by unheeded. It should rather be our aim to hold up for imitation a type of manhood so conspicuous in him, which is as rare as it is noble.

I have, therefore, prepared a minute very briefly reciting some of the more important offices filled by General Dix, and beg leave to ask the passage of the following resolution:

Resolved, That the annexed memorandum be entered at length on the book of records of this Chamber, as a tribute of respect to the memory of our late honorary member, JOHN A. DIX, and that a copy thereof be transmitted to the family of the deceased, to testify to our admiration of his character, and heartfelt sympathy for the bereaved.

IN MEMORIAM,

Died, in this city, on Monday, the 21st day of April, 1879, JoHN ADAMS DIX, in the 81st year of his age. Born at the town of Boscawen, N. H., on the 24th of July, 1798, he was "sent from there at an early age to the academy at Salisbury, and afterwards to that at Exeter. When thirteen years old he entered a college at Montreal, pursuing his studies diligently till the breaking out of hostilities with Great Britain, when he found it necessary to return

home." After serving as an officer in the army of the United States for several years, and being attached to the staff of General BROWN, he married, and subsequently took up his abode in this city.

General Dix was endowed by nature with various gifts-with that taste for literature and desire for knowledge which industry ripens into scholarly attainment; with that ardent love of country which virtue exalts into lofty patriotism; with high and heroic aspirations for the honor to be gained in public life, which, guided by principle, lead up above the shifts and trammels of party to the dignity of an enlightened statesmanship.

The talents so generously bestowed were, wisely improved, and his mind, bent on acquisition, was early enriched with the knowledge of other languages than his own, and, throughout life, the study of the classics was to him a source of pleasant recreation.

His fellow citizens were quick to discern, and to profit by, his culture, his loyalty and his known devotion to duty; and, as a consequence of his various qualifications, he was often called to the discharge of important public trusts; while, in times of peril, the people turned to him as an able leader-whether in the councils of the nation or in the army of the Union.

Some forty years of his life were employed in the service of the State and of the nation, and no higher tribute can be paid to his worth than to name the various offices which he filled and adorned :

In 1830-He was appointed Adjutant-General by Gen. THROOP.
In 1833-He was chosen Secretary of State of the State of New-
York, and, by virtue of this office, was Superintendent

of the Common Schools, a Member of the Canal Board,
and one of the Commissioners of the Canal Fund.

In 1841-He was elected Member of the State Assembly.
In 1845-He was appointed to fill the vacancy in the United States
Senate caused by the election of SILAS WRIGHT as
Governor.

In 1853-He was made Assistant Treasurer of the United States at

New-York.

In 1860-He was appointed as Postmaster at the City of New-York. In 1861-During the crisis which preceded the outbreak of the rebellion, he was called to Washington, by President BUCHANAN, to take a place in his Cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury; from which office he retired, with the inauguration of Mr. LINCOLN as President, the following March.

Returning to New-York, he was elected as Chairman of
the Union Defence Committee; this office, as we
have seen, he resigned to accept an appointment as
Major-General of Volunteers; President LINCOLN, in
the June following, giving him the same rank in the
regular army.

He was then ordered to the command of the army of
Maryland.

In 1862--He was transferred to East Virginia, North Carolina being afterwards added to the Department. His head

quarters were subsequently removed to New-York, where he remained until 1866, when he resigned.

In 1866-He was nominated as Naval Officer at New-York, and, soon afterwards, as Minister to France.

At the organization of the Union Pacific Rail-Road Company he was elected President, and afterwards, in 1872, he was made Provisional President of the Erie Railway.

In 1872-He was elected Governor of the State of New-York, and served the regular term of two years.

In other lands, under other institutions, long and faithful service to the State is honored with rank and title and costly decorations ; but, in ours, Republican simplicity bears away the glory of personal achievement to swell the volume of National renown.

Let it be our privilege to cherish the name and the memory of the patriot and statesman who has so recently left us, for what he did to exalt the character of the nation-in whose work, and for whose fame, he wrought so well. And may the Church with which he was closely connected, and society which he adorned with his presence, gratefully preserve the recollections of a life that was full of grace and beauty; and the honor which he kept so bright will continue to reflect its lustre on those who shall follow in his footsteps, for generations to come.

ADDRESS OF MR. ELLIOT C. COWDIN.

Mr. ELLIOT C. COWDIN, on seconding the resolution, said :

MR. PRESIDENT: I cordially second the resolution that has just been submitted. A soldier, a statesman, a scholar, a patriot, a model citizen, JOHN A. Dix-long an honorary member of this Chamber, has passed away.

Born and reared among the rugged hills of New-Hampshire, the sprightly and ardent youth, at the outbreak of the war with Great Britain, in 1812, he having just reached his fourteenth year, was appointed a cadet in the army, and assigned to active service at Baltimore, where his father was in command of a regiment. He remained in the army till 1826, rising gradually to the rank of Captain, and for the last seven years was Aid-de-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief. On retiring from military service he pursued the study of the law, was admitted to the bar in 1828, and settled in the beautiful village of Cooperstown.

He now entered upon a public career that filled half a century with valuable services, and won for him honorable fame. Holding during this long period a large number of important offices, he always rose to the level of the emergency while discharging the onerous, and often delicate, duties devolved upon him.

For the two years he was Adjutant-General of the State of NewYork, he took pride in perfecting the discipline of our militia.

In 1833 he was elected Secretary of State, holding that responsible position for six years. He was ex-officio a member of the Canal Board, and Superintendent of Common Schools. The former brought him into close relations with WILLIAM L. MARCY, SILAS WRIGHT, WILLIAM C. BOUCK and AZARIAH C. FLAGG, just as the State was embarking on the munificent enterprise of enlarging the Erie Canal. His distinguished associates in the Board regarded him as wise in council and vigorous in execution. But his noblest work was in behalf of public instruction. Of the many devoted and sagacious friends of popular education who have held the office of Superintendent, General Dix was certainly one of the most efficient and judicious. For his labors in that department, the children of the State who resort to these nurseries of education owe him a debt of gratitude. By virtue of his office, he was a Regent of the University, and took pleasure in promoting the interests of our higher seats of learning, the academies and colleges of the State.

His valuable geological report to the Legislature while Secretary of State, prepared the way for the elaborate treatise on the Natural History of New-York.

He

General Dix was soon to test his powers in another field. He was a member of the Assembly of 1842. That Session was remarkable in the annals of the State, not only for the importance of the questions agitated in the Legislature, but for the number of able men that appeared in the lower House. By his statesmanlike bearing in the Assembly, he achieved a reputation that prepared the way for his election to the Senate of the United States. took his seat in January, 1845, and remained in the Senate until March, 1849. During these four years the Senate Chamber shone with resplendent talents, while Congress and the country were shaken with controversies concerning the annexation of Texas, the joint occupation of Oregon, the war with Mexico, and the prohibition of slavery in the vast territories acquired by the peace. WEBSTER, CALHOUN, BENTON, CRITTENDEN, CASS, CORWIN, DOUGLASS, JEFFERSON DAVIS, and other eminent debaters, took the lead in the stormy discussions on these questions. Such forensic displays would have awed to silence a young Senator less firm and faithful than General Dix. But he delivered able speeches on all the pending issues, while in respect to the one absorbing topic of that memorable era, he advocated with rare courage and eloquence the constitutional power of Congress to prohibit slavery in the territories

of the Union.

Faithful to this, he was not unmindful of other important interests. He was warmly devoted to the promotion of the commerce of the country, and the improvement of its revenue laws. As Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, he carried through Congress the Warehouse System, which thenceforward became a permanent element in our customs policy. He exhibited marked courtesy toward the merchants and business men generally, and was always ready at their call to step aside from the most exciting

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