tion of WASHINGTON as the first President, on the 30th day of On motion of Mr. A. FOSTER HIGGINS, the officers of the Chamber were added to the Committee, and the President, Mr. JAMES M. BROWN, made Chairman. The Chamber then adjourned. Monthly Meeting, Thursday, June 3, 1886. A regular monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held this day, at one o'clock, P. M., at the Rooms of the Chamber, on Nassau-street, between Cedar and Liberty streets. PRESENT. JAMES M. BROWN, President. CHARLES S. SMITH, First Vice-President. And a quorum of members. The minutes of the annual meeting, held May 6, were read and approved. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES. Mr. CORNELIUS N. BLISS, Chairman of the Executive Committee, reported the following named candidates for membership, and recommended their election : FREDERICK BILLINGS, ANDREW J. C. FOYE, CHARLES A. Gilberg, CORNELIUS D. WOOD, Nominated by JOHN E. ALEXANDRE. JAMES P. WALLACE. These gentlemen were, on one ballot, unanimously elected members of the Chamber. Mr. BLISS further reported the following preamble and resolutions, and recommended their adoption : Whereas, The Legislature which has recently adjourned passed a bill changing the mode of electing Aldermen for the City by providing for their election on a general ticket instead of by districts; and Whereas, The City of New-York has been for the last twenty years, with rare exceptions, ruled, so far as the Board of Aldermen is concerned, by men totally unfitted for the high trust conferred upon them, and the government of the City has become a by-word and a reproach by reason thereof; and Whereas, The bill now before the Governor, awaiting his signature, is believed to be in the best interests of good government; therefore, Resolved, That this Chamber urges his Excellency, Governor HILL, to give the bill before him his sanction, and thus aid the citi zens and tax-payers of the City of New-York in securing the election of a class of men who shall honestly and fearlessly discharge the important duties entrusted to the legislative branch of our City Government. Resolved, That the Secretary of the Chamber be and he is hereby instructed to forward to Governor HILL a certified copy of the preamble and resolution. Messrs. FREDERICK A. CONKLING, DANIEL DRAKE SMITH and ISAAC PHILLIPS spoke in opposition to the Chamber acting upon questions of this character, and Messrs. CHARLES S. SMITH and HUGH N. CAMP urged the adoption of the preamble and resolutions wholly in the interest of good government. Mr. PHILLIPS moved that the preamble and resolutions be laid on the table. The President put the question, and the motion was lost. The preamble and resolutions were then adopted by a large majority. REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES. Mr. DANIEL DRAKE SMITH, Chairman of the Special Committee appointed by the Chamber at the annual meeting, held on the 6th ultimo, to investigate the rules and regulations established by the Health Officer relative to the disinfection of rags and other materials imported into the port of New-York for the manufacture of paper, submitted the following report on the subject, signed by a majority of the Committee: To the Chamber of Commerce: The Special Committee appointed to investigate the rules and regulations of the Health Officer relative to the disinfection of rags imported into the Port of New-York, do now respectfully report: That when regulations concerning the importation of old rags were first adopted by the Treasury Department, in 1884, cholera was epidemic in certain ports of some countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, and it was feared it might visit the United States. The regulations, therefore, were made, wholly or chiefly, in reference to that disease. A circular dated November 15th, 1884, prohibited the unlading in the United States of old rags shipped after November 20th, from foreign ports or countries then or thereafter known to be infected with contagious or epidemic disease. France, Italy, and all Mediterranean ports were declared to be infected within the meaning of this circular order. Old rags gathered or baled in infected ports or countries and shipped from other ports or countries, were also prohibited from being unladen in the United States. This regulation is now referred to, because it was in general conformity to regulations adopted by many European governments. Subsequent regulations permitted the landing of rags that had been disinfected before shipment, or after arrival, by either one of four specified processes. On June 10th, 1885, the following Treasury Circular was issued: TREASURY DEPARTMENT, June 10, 1885. Whereas, it has been conclusively shown to the Department that, under existing laws, no general regulation can be legally framed whereby the disinfection of old rags can be accomplished in foreign ports to the satisfaction of the several health authorities: Therefore, it is ordered I. That all circulars of this Department concerning the disinfection of imported old rags are hereby revoked, and that all old rags hereafter imported from foreign countries shall only be admitted to entry at the Custom House upon the production of permits from the health officers of the ports of importation, duly authorizing the landing of the same. II. Vessels carrying old rags, arriving at any United States quarantine, will be detained by the quarantine officers, and held subject to the order of the proper health authorities at the port of destination. TO COLLECTORS OF CUSTOMS AND OTHERS. DANIEL MANNING, Secretary. This order relegated the whole subject to the health officers at the several ports of importation. At the request of your Committee, the Health Officer of the Port of New-York promptly transmitted a statement of the regulations in force at this port, of which the following is a copy: Regulations at the New-York Quarantine in relation to Foreign Rags. Old rags from any foreign country are required to be disinfected before shipment, or on arrival at this port. Proof of disinfection in any foreign port or country is required. A certificate of an inspector appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury for the disinfection of rags, and authenticated by the United States Consul, that the rags have been disinfected by one of the following processes, is required with each invoice: 1. Boiling in water for not less than thirty minutes and dried before baling, or treated with superheated steam under twenty-five pounds pressure for not less than eight minutes, and in such manner as to be heated to or above 230 degrees Fahrenheit in every part. 2. Exposure to dry heat to 230 degrees Fahrenheit, maintained for three hours. 3. Subjection to sulphur-dioxide, introduced in a vacuum of at least twenty-five inches, continued until a pressure of at least twenty-five pounds is produced, and an exposure to these conditions at least twenty minutes. The following regulation for the disinfection of rags is one of several processes directed by the Treasury Department of the United States Government, in a circular dated December 22d, 1884: "Subjection to the action of confined sulphurous acid gas for six hours, burning two pounds of roll brimstone in each 1,000 cubic feet of space, with the rags well scattered upon racks." Shippers of foreign rags to this port have adopted this process to a large extent-nearly or quite six-sevenths of the rags in 1885 having passed the New-York Quarantine under a certificate of disinfection by the above process. The Health Officer at the Port of New-York felt it his duty to recognize the process directed by the Government, which had been adopted to a considerable degree by the shippers of foreign rags. Accordingly, a circular, issued by the Health Officer soon after the Government referred the matter to the maritime quarantine officials, gave notice that "rags disinfected by sulphurous gas, as per directions of the Treasury Department circular, will be admitted while there is reason to believe such disinfection is faithfully and efficiently performed." Disinfected rags, or those accompanied by certificates of disinfection, properly authenticated, are given pratique without delay. Rags from infected ports, or gathered in infected countries, are subjected to preliminary disinfection at Quarantine, for the benefit of those portions of the bale (the wrappings) that have been exposed to the filth of the streets and wharves of infected ports. The detention for this purpose is usually an hour, more or less, according to the facilities afforded for disinfecting by the stowage of the cargo. Vessels with cargoes of undisinfected rags and general merchandise are given "permit" to discharge cargo, "except rags," or a "permit to discharge rags for disinfection." Vessels with invoices of rags, accompanied by properly authenticated certificates of disinfection, are given "permit " at Quarantine, "for landing and distribution of the rags." WM. M. SMITH, Health Officer, Port of New-York. If these regulations were applicable only to rags gathered in infected countries and exported to this country, either directly from infected ports, or indirectly, via or from uninfected ports or countries, it is believed that they would meet with general acceptance from those engaged in the trade; and further, that even no objection would be made by importers if the landing of such rags in this country should be absolutely prohibited during the prevalence of cholera or other supposed infectious or contagious disease, and for a reasonable time after its disappearance. This latter course, as appears from copies of official orders, was adopted in 1884-85 by England, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Austria, when cholera was epidemic in certain parts of France, Italy, Spain and other |