UNIVERSAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. [From "Chambers' Journal."]

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 553, 2 August 1851, Page 3

UNIVERSAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. [From " Chambers' Journal."]

CoMJicncr, like most other things, lises from small beginnings, and submits to numeious vicissitudes. Its principles and character aye only developed in the pi ogress of its work ; and until men become actually civilized, they do not recognise it as the great agent of civilisation. It assimilates itself thiou^hout to the moral status of the people ; and is soidid, dishonest, j liberal, or lofty, according to the time. When engrafted into the earlier political f.ibric, it is broken up into monopolies, and loaded with restrictions, and these are only gradually and painfully removed by the struggles of knowledge. Perhaps the tiue reason why commerce disengages itself so slowly from the various lucubi fastened upon it by pi irate blindness, splfishness, and covetousness, and by the same qualities under their collective title of national policy, is the watit of intercommunion among the gieat mercantile body. Chambers of commerce have sprung up in various cities at home and abroad ; but, so far as we can undei stand, these corporate bodies do little to promote geneial intercourse, while thi'ir functions cannot be said to embrace objects of woild-wide importance. What is wanted is something infinitely more cosmopolitan. Aeeoithng to present arrangements, each country has its own code of commercial laws, although it is manifest that the principles of what is in leahty a true science must bo everywhere the same. Why should this btate of things remain ? In the general fusion of intellects that has now taken place, is that of the meichants alone to remain separate and distinct ? Is it not possible to substitute a general for so many particulai codes? And would not the very attempt to do so be pioductive of immense advantage, by bringing together m one centre the moie enlightened and energetic of those spirits which diiect the distribution throughout the world of the products of nature and industry? Our attention Las been drawn to the subject by a biief printed mpinoiial addressed to Prince Albert, and tinned " Leone Levi," the object of which is to propose — without any reasonings on the necessity— the establishment of " a national and international code of commerce among all civilized countries;" and we are the rather disposed to bestow some notice upon the document, from the en cumstance of Mr. Levi originating the very happy idea of connecting the undei taking with the great Industrial Exhibition of next year. His notion is that a merchant, a banker, and a jurist should be invited as a deputation from each country ; and that, with a view to the formation of a general code, they should take into consideration the existing laws on partnerships, factors, contiacls, insurance, bills of exchange, shipping, bankruptcies, &.C., throughout the world. The practicability of such a scheme he illustrates by the success of the congress held at Leipsig in 1848, when a general law of bills of exchange for all Germany was agreed upon, which came into operation in the following year. Till that time Altenbourg, Anhalt-Kothen, Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Bremen, Brunswick, Frankfort, Hamburg, Hanover, Hesse-Electorate, Hungary, Lubec, Nassau, Piussia, Saxony, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe- Weimar, Sohwurzbiug, and Wurternburg, all had their distinct ordinances on bills of eichangp.* It seems to us that this idea is well worth working out, and we shall mention a few of the practical points in which a general assimilation would redound more or less to the ndvantage of commerce. In regard to bills of exchange just mentioned, the usance we suspect — or time allowed by local usage for payment — requires m some instances reconsideration. As an example, we may say that it has been customary in India to draw bills on England at so many days' " sight" (that is, after presentation and acceptance) ; but the effect of the oveiland rout in our own day is to hasten the presentation, and thus diminish the credit by eeveial months. From tins p\sunplo, it vvill be seen that the usance must diffor at different periods and in different places; although much is to be done in reconciling it with the altered circumstances of the time. Another matter connected with bills of exchange is the days of grace — in some countries two, in others three, four, five, up to twelve. These days, so troublesome, on account of their numuer differing in most of the count! les of Europe, have survived the purpose for which they wore intended. At a time when accounts were loosely kept, and money difficult of collection, some grace might have been veiy requisite to enable the acceptor to provide the funds ; but at present, the extia time allowed is a mere addition to the usance of the bill, A meichant now does not enter bis acceptance as duo at the end of so many months, and then talre the additional time to collect the money : it appears in his books as due on the last of the days of grace, and he piovides accordingly. Lint if this empty form is kept up, there can ba no reason why it should not be ao to the same extent in al! countries. Tins is comparatively a trifle ; but what is to be said of the fact, that in our boasted nineteenth century the nations of Europe are not agreed in their common every- day chronology — that in one country the month may be October, whila in another it is November ? The maintenance by Russia of the Julian, while the rest of the Christian nations adhere to the Gregorian Calendar, is a repioauh to the civilisation of the age, while it is a standing annoyance, and impediment in the way of commerce. Such a congress as we refer to would doubtles3 employ its efforts in altogether abrogating the Old btyle. How humiliating it is to think that religious jealousy should influence an important part of the world in a question like this— that the Christians of the Eastern church should be more willing to receive their calendar from a pagan than from a pope ! The assimilation of weights and measures would form nn undei Liking woithy of the highest intellects and energies of the age. But it would be a very difficult one, as everybody must allow who is aware of the heartbieaking obstiuctiona the attempt has encountered even in reference to our own country alone. There is no reason, however, if a simple and universally-applicable scheme of weights and measures were devised, why it should not be adopted by all commercial nations; and as in this case wo might have legitimate recourse to the instrumentality of governments, the time occupied in bringing about the change would not be so great as if it were necessary to go through the process of indoctrinating the people. The same thing may be said of the various national currencies, in which the universal adoption of the decimal principle might perhaps be nil that would be requisite in the first instance. Port and haibour dues would present a subject of immense interest for the inquiries of such a congress. The postage question would of course be one of the most important discussed; and that of international parcelage would be redeemed from the almost entire neglect in which it lies at piesent. On the latter subject we may say that, under existing circumstances, a peison in this country would find it far easier to get a parcel conveyed to the antipodes than to Austria. But this is neither the place nor the time for entering into specialities : it is sufficient for the present to show that the proposed intercommunion is loudly demanded by the civilisation of the dge. Neither should we think it either necessaiy or becoming to point out what further steps should be taken, after the first great meeting, to give permanence to the movement. Mr. Levi suggests that, after the return of the delegates to their homos, prizes should be offered for works propounding the best plans for the assimilation of the laws of commerce : but in this we can by no means coincide. The practical meichants, to who-.e knowledge and experience we look for dnection, aie not likely to embark in authorship from pecuniary viows ; and with all our respect for hteiary men, wo would by no means invoke then ingonui'y on such an occasion. All tins, however would bo best ai ranged by the delegates themselves, who wou'd piobably establish an office in London as a cential point I'ur suggestions and lepoits to be received and where t!i"fli would be pienauul to be submitted in a convenient, /oim to the neit m^etinc;. 'Ihat iomo -uch movement will taLe place, and at no distant date, have not the slightest doubt. All the tendencies of tl c age aie in f.nour of the supposition, and the only wouder is that it is not already in operation. But nc no place 01 time could the fust step be taken moio advantageously or more peacefully than at the appioachni" high festival of industry. England is confessedly at the head of the commerce of the globe, and London is, in more bbiues tlun one, the metropolis of the vorU. But moio than that, England is so

far in advance in large find enlightened commercial views, as to make her taking the lead indispensable to the success of the plan. No Tyre or Carthage, no Venice or Genoa, grasping at trade as if it were a special possession, a-id at the same time crushing under toot the industry and competition by which it exists, she lias proclaimed to mankind, in her own practice, the true universal nature of commerce. She has appned to a greater extent than any other nation, anciont or modern, the lessons of history ; and scorning the mean policy which restricts itself to mere temporary advantages, she has taken her place in history as one of those great lights of civilisation which fling their illumination like a pharos over the stream of time. The Exhibtion itself is one of those high and generous projects which can only he conceived and executed by a great nation ; and it offers the smest guarantee both of the zeal and good faith with which the English people woulnd enter into a scheme for establishing throughout the woikl a simple impartial, and univieisal code of ejmmercial laws.