DUNDEE AND ITS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Transcription

1 DUNDEE AND ITS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. In writing the history of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce it may not be out of place to refer to the early history or, more correctly, to the tradition of the city itself, as Edward I. of England, not content to make war against the inhabitants of Scotland, seized and destroyed all their records. It must be admitted at once that no definite statement can be made as to the origin of the name of our beloved city. Hector Boece - a native of Dundee who wrote his " Chronicles " about called the town Alec" (equal in Gaelic to "beautiful" or "pleasant") which appears in Latin as Alectum." It would be easy to hail this ancient name as an intelligent anticipation of the modern "Bonnie Dundee" were it not that truth compels us to state that this latter appellation belongs by right to James Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, who met his death on the battlefield of Killiecrankie (1689). The Roman records called the town Taodunum " - the Hill of Tay - said to be the Latin rendering of the Celtic "Luntay or " Duntaw," taken from the,hill that rises above the town, called Dundee Law. Our ancient native historian, Boece, also gives the name "Deldonum " - an entirely ecclesiastical name - probably not unrelated to the tradition that when David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of the Scottish King, William the Lion, and the companion on his Crusades of Richard I. of England, after despairing of reaching land alive in his storm-tossed barque, and finding safe haven at St. Nicholas Rock, beneath the shadow of the Castle of Dundee, exclaimed, "It is the gift of God." "Die donum" is still inscribed upon the city's Coat of Arms. The King made a gift of the town to his Royal Brother and erected it into a Royal Burgh. "Meo burgi de Dundee" is how Earl David refers to the town thereafter. Notwithstanding many changes of spelling in the orthography of the centuries, "Dundee" it remains to this day. In construction works being carried out between the coast railway from Dundee to Arbroath and the sea, led to the discovery of what archaeologists call a "kitchen midden," from which they deduced that in prehistoric times a colony of fishers and hunters had been settled at the Stannergate. This settlement would appear to have later migrated about a mile to the westward where the nucleus of Dundee was formed at the confluence of a burn (the united streams of the Balgay Burn, Scouring Burn, and Tods Burn) with the Tay, and under the eastern shadow of the "Dun" or black rocky eminence later crowned with the Castle of Dundee. Towards the end of the first century of our era, the Romans in their penetrating expeditions found Dundee to be a place of some size for the times, a safe haven, and inhabited by a people who had assimilated much of the civilisation of the settlements which fringed both sides of the North Sea and were well posted in the commercial methods of the times. Stone coffins of the Roman period were found interred eight feet above the level of the relics of the prehistoric Stannergate village site. Galgacus, Chieftain or King of Scots, is reputed to have made at Dundee a league with Catanach, the like leader of the Picts, against the common Roman foe. The more or less mythical King Donald I. is said to have fortified the Castle of Dundee and made it his residence (circa 200 A.D.). For the next 600 years, even mythology offers no clue to the doings of the Taysiders of the times, but 834 is given as the date of the Battle of Pitalpin (near the north-west corner of the present city boundary) between King Brude of the Picts, and Alpin, King of Scots, who found his grave on the field. Another battle was fought in the neighbourhood of Dundee in 1010, when at Barry (ten miles east of the town), King Malcolm II. defeated the Danes under Camus, whose burial place is still a landmark of the neighbourhood. Marriage bells were ringing in Dundee in At the royal palace in the town, Malcolm III. was united to Margaret, sister of Edgar Atheling, Earl of Oxford, who ought to have followed Edward the Confessor on the throne of England. In implement of a vow, David, Earl of Huntingdon, built a great church in the fields adjoining the ancient burgh on the west - the church of St. Mary in the Fields. That church has passed through various vicissitudes, but the pinnacles of St. Mary's still point heavenwards, and the great building with its solid square tower - the "Old Steeple"-still remains the civic centre for daily and weekly praise and prayer, and in which the citizens gather on civic and national occasions to pay tribute and respect to the great dead, to give thanks and praise for deliverance from peril, and to rejoice together a[ times of general congratulation. Two other congregations-st. Paul's and St. Clement's - occupy parts of the present structure. At an earlier date the building provided accommodation for four congregations, which gave that witty poet - Tom Hood - when residing for a period in Dundee for the benefit of his health, occasion to write, And four churches together with only one steeple Is an emblem quite apt of the thrift of the people." Whatever the importance of Dundee may have been up to this period, it certainly thereafter became a place of prominence and value. Round its ancient Castle, hutments had given place gradually to better and still better and 1

2 more strongly built houses of the nobility and gentry. Royalty resided in the town from time to time, and it may be inferred occupied the Castle, while defensive works were erected on rocky knolls now situated within the very heart of the present city. Town walls with gates or sally ports were constructed, the memory of which remains with us still in such place names as West Port and East Port, and the converging arteries or streets now known as Seagate, Cowgate, Overgate, and Nethergate, these being the modernised and greatly expanded successors of the gaits, tracks or paths which led to the exits from the burgh and gave access to the seaside and the countryside. A strongly defended and therefore desirable residence for the times was the compact town of Dundee, and the facilities which its harbour afforded of overseas traffic and means of escape in emergency increased its importance. In the great ways of independence waged by the King of England, Edward I., in an attempt to conquer Scotland, Dundee suffered severely, and its buildings were pillaged, its inhabitants were put to the sword, and its Castle changed masters time and time again. Edward I., whom his contemporaries called "The Hammer of the Scots," attempted to crush the spirit of the nation by seizing, destroying, and carrying off into England all their national and municipal papers. Even the Stone of Destiny on which Scottish Kings were crowned was taken from Scone and now forms part of the Coronation Chair on which the King of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the Seas is crowned. In olden days the Coronation Ceremony was accompanied by a Druidical Gaelic chant, which in understandable modern English reads, Unless the fates are faithless grown And prophet's voice be vain Where'er is found this stone The Scottish race shall reign." The fulfilment of the prophecy is said to have' been consummated when James VI. of Scotland was crowned King at Westminster as James I. of England. In consequence of the policy of King Edward I., there exists to-day no known official records of the period between the date of Earl David's landing at Dundee in the twelfth century till the fourteenth century, when the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 finally extinguished the English hopes of conquering Scotland. Tradition has done its best to bridge the gap in history. How far it can be relied on, who can say? Our great national hero Wallace is chronicled as being educated at the Grammar School of Dundee while the English occupied the Castle. Governor Selby's son assailed the Scottish youth with insults to himself, his nation, and his country. In the melee which followed, young Selby was killed, and discretion sent Wallace westwards for refuge in his father's domain. In time the banner of independence was raised, the struggle ebbed and flowed, and finally Sir William Wallace, the Guardian of Scotland, was taken prisoner and executed on Tower Hill in London. Robert Bruce opened his campaign. On 24th February, 1309, a Council of Bishops and other clergy met at Dundee in the Church of the Minorites and declared Lord Robert King of Scotland. Aided by this powerful backing and the willing assistance of nobles and people, King Robert eventually carried his campaign to a successful conclusion, and ascended the throne of Scotland. At this point the authenticated history of Dundee begins, for there exists in the City Archives a Charter, dated 14th March, 1327, whereby King Robert refers to and confirms the liberties and rights enjoyed by the Burgh in King William's time before he conferred the town upon his brother David of Huntingdon, and also the liberties and customs, free harbour, market and fairs, which it enjoyed under King Alexander. This Charter conferred great trading privileges on the Burgesses of Dundee, and showed the high position of the Burgh as a commercial centre of these days. The Culdees are credited with having introduced Christianity to Dundee. and there seems to have been a Church of St. Paul sited somewhere between Murraygate and Seagate. Monifieth possessed a Church of the Culdees till sometime after the reign of William I. Papacy was introduced in either the 5th or 7 th centuries by Boniface, papal legate and missionary, and the originals of the now ruined churches at Invergowrie, Tealing, and Restennet are referred to his time. Prior to the date when the Church of St. Mary was founded, St. Clement appears to have been the patron saint of the town. The church named after him seems to have been entirely removed in the middle of the sixteenth century, and its site is understood to have been included in that of the Old Town House, which adorned the High Street until a few years ago. Dav id II., in 1358, granted additional privileges to the burgesses, as he might well do, seeing they had bound themselves with Edinburgh, Perth, and Aberdeen for his ransom - an indication of the wealth and standing of the town in these days. This is all the more remarkable when one considers that in 1335 the war vessels of Edward III. had attacked the town, burned a large portion of it, and put to death many of the inhabitants. The favours of King David did not please the gentleman who then held the office of Hereditary Constable of Dundee, and Scrymseoure of Craigie proceeded to exercise his rights with the intention of depriving the Magistrates of the time of the benefits thus royally conferred. In 1389, however, the feud was amicably settled, to be immediately followed by a furious controversy between Perth and Dundee as to the rank and precedence of their respective representatives at conventions, and as to the sphere of influence exercised by each over the waters of Tay. It was not till 1402 that the decision of the Regent and Council was given in favour of the contentions of Dundee. About this time there were indications that the foreign trade of the town was beginning to flourish. In 1458 James II. confirmed the privileges of the town and ratified the Agreement with the Constable. About the year 1489 occurred a Scottish naval victory off the mouths of the Forth and Tay. A notorious English pirate, Stephen Bull, backed by his King, attacked a fleet of merchantmen under a great Scottish captain of 2

3 the day, Sir Andrew Wood. After a stubborn fight, Sir Andrew won the day and brought his prizes into Dundee along with his own famous ships. There still exists the narrow thoroughfare of the Cowgate, so called because it was the gait or way by which the inhabitants drove their cows to pasture daily, and across it stands a relic of the days when Dundee was a walled town, the old East Port of the fortifications. The modern roadway, none too wide at the best, is further restricted by this ancient monument, but a strong body of opinion still persists for retaining it intact in memory of George Wishart, the martyr, who in 1544 preached from the parapet to the inhabitants within the gate, and their plague-stricken friends standing without - an occasion still further made memorable by the attempt made by a monk to stab Wishart as he descended the narrow stair giving access to the top of the port. The years that followed mark a glorious period in the history of the town, yet fraught with dire disaster. The Queen Mother, Mary of Guise, with the arrogant Cardinal Beaton, - virtual ruler of Scotland at the time, was riding to Dundee intent on curbing the Protestant activities of the inhabitants, when she was met by Rothes, Gray, and Glammis, a few miles outside the town, and persuaded to return to Perth, from whence she proceeded to Arbroath via Forfar. On 28th March, 1546, Wishart was burnt at the stake in St. Andrews in presence of the same Cardinal Beaton. The assassination of Beaton followed quickly, and the same night his effigy was burnt in Dundee. Flagrant breaches of faith on the part of the Queen Regent and her advisers had goaded the Reformation Party to take up arms in defence of their liberties, and the inhabitants of Dundee joined in the rising. Prominent amongst the Reformers were the Wedderburns of Dundee, whose grandfather had settled in the town in the reign of James III. John Wedderburn was Town Clerk, and he and his brothers were the authors of the "Gude and Godlie Ballads." The site of their dwelling place at Nethergate is to-day marked by a commemorative plate. Following the defeat of the Reformers at Pinkie in 1547, an immediate attack by land and water was made upon Dundee. England, enraged at the failure to arrange a marriage of the Prince of Wales with the infant Queen Mary, sacked and burnt Dundee, and the French auxiliaries and troops of the Queen Mother took Broughty Castle and seized the ruins of the once wealthy but rebellious Dundee. In 1558 the first Reformed Church in Scotland was formed in Dundee. The great John Knox spent some time in the town, and travelled to the Justiciary Court at Perth with the indicted preachers, including Paul Methven, the Minister of Dundee, whom Provost Halyburton had refused to apprehend. The Provost and a thousand of the men of Dundee afterwards joined the forces of the Reformation at St. Andrews, and took part next year in the seige of Perth. In 1560 the General Assembly of the Reformed Church of Scotland met in Dundee. Provost Halyburton here referred to is believed to have met his death in a Reformers' assault on Leith, and to have been buried in St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, where during renovations some time ago, a stone bearing his name was unearthed. An interesting comparison may be here introduced. Land Tax records show that in 1556 Edinburgh paid tax amounting to /-; Dundee, 105 9/3; and Glasgow, 16 17/6. The same year, Thomas, Earl of Angus, while a hostage at the English Court, was permitted to return to Dundee for the purpose of procuring four armed ships to assist in King Edward's expedition to the Continent. In 1561, we find Provost Halyburton, son of the previous Provost, acting as one of the Commissioners who arranged for the return of Queen Mary, then the widowed Queen of France, to reign over her own people. Queen Mary appears to have visited Dundee that same year, and again in 1562, and granted the inhabitants the right of burial in the grounds of the Minorite Friars (now called The Howff) as a substitute for St. Clement's Churchyard in the very heart of the town. Following her marriage to Darnley, she took active steps to punish the Reformers, and Dundee was fined 2000 merks and Provost Halyburton proclaimed a rebel and put to the horn. The death of Darnley in 1567 was followed by a policy, initiated by Bothwell, of placating the Reformers, and on 15th April of that year, Queen Mary's Charter gave Dundee the heritages and revenues of the ancient faith, to be called the Queen's Foundation of the Ministry and Hospitality of Dundee, afterwards known as the Queen's Donation or simply The Hospital Fund, from which is derived the office of Hospital Master conferred on one of the members of the present City Council. Within a few months, Bothwell was divorced, married Mary, was defeated at Carberryhill, the Queen a prisoner at Lochleven Castle, and Bothwell was being pursued, more or less as a pirate, by a fleet in which were included the "James Primrose" and the Robert " furnished from the Port of Dundee. Queen Mary's Charter was after her abdication confirmed by her son, King James VI. of Scotland and I. of England. During the reign of that monarch, Dundee had the questionable privilege more than once of relieving his financial embarrassments. Dundee's rights as a Royal Burgh were finally confirmed by the Great Charter of Charles I, granted in In the struggle between that monarch and the Covenanters, Montrose, for the King, captured Dundee and pillaged and burnt the town. On the execution of Charles I. the Scots espoused the cause of his son and heir, Charles II., who for a time prior to his Scottish coronation had his abode in Dundee. For her support of that monarch's interest, the town suffered severely at the hands of the Parliamentary Party, Cromwell's henchman, General Monk, having in 1651 besieged and sacked the town, an occasion written red in the annals of the Burgh, both for its heroism and its horror. For eight years Monk's soldiers garrisoned Dundee, and in 1660, after the death of Cromwell, Monk, who had all these years fought for the Parliament, was the means of bringing about the restoration of the exiled King. 3

4 The name of Dundee bulked largely in the annals of Scotland during the reign of the next King, James VII., last of the Stuart reign, but it was not the town but the title which attained prominence. The King had conferred on John Graham of Claverhouse the confiscated estates of Dudhope, and conferred on him the title of Viscount Dundee. Assuming the rights of Constable of Dundee, personal to the family of Scrynigeour, "Bonnie Dundee" as he came to be called, disputed vehemently with the Provost and Magistrates until forced to flee. Returning with a following of wild Highlanders, he hoped to surprise and wreck vengeance on the town, but, warned in time, the inhabitants were ready to resist him and he had perforce to be satisfied by setting fire to the Rotten Row or Hilltown, a separate community of bonnetmakers and weavers, then entirely outwith the burgh. The battle of Killiecrankie and the death of the "bloody Clavers," as the Covenanters had cause to call him, ended the career of one whose connection with Dundee boded the town not good but ill. The ballad written of Viscount Dundee's somewhat inglorious departure from an unwelcoming Edinburgh has advertised the town of Dundee, which he hoped to plunder, far and wide, and the tune to which the words were sung is now an inspiring martial air and the regimental march of the local territorial force. Dundee had a part in the Stuart rebellions of and A section of the burghers, and in particular the magistracy, were for the Stuarts, and the Old Pretender spent a night in the town, acclaimed by his adherents. In the 45 the town was taken by the Jacobites, but seems to have gone quite tranquilly about its business all the time the troops were in possession. After Monk's pillage, Dundee's importance greatly declined, and seven years of famine almost ruined the inhabitants. The state of Scotland in the eighteenth century called for the intervention of Parliament, and amongst other legislative efforts, it aimed to promote the linen trade. A certain amount of success attended the operations, and the establishment soon afterwards of the British Linen Company (now a purely banking company) seems to have been responsible for putting the industry on its feet. The history of the flax trade in the eighteenth century and early years of the nineteenth century is dealt with elsewhere in these pages, and this article will now continue the history of Dundee as linked up with that of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce. It is difficult at this distance of time to obtain any exact information as to what led to the establishment of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce or of the parent body from which it sprang. It may be conjectured that as the Cowgate had become the meeting-place of the merchants and manufacturers of the town engaged in the textile trade, and of others with whom they had business connections-such as shipping agents, bankers, etc., there arose a desire to possess a convenient meeting-place of their own, a common roof under which they could gather in inclement weather, and a resort where they might in comfort obtain the latest trade news and might readily be found by enquirers. Whatever the reasons, the simple fact must be recorded that on 25th March, 1835, the first meeting of subscribers for the establishment of the Baltic Coffee House in Dundee was held in Scott's Tavern, Wellgate. There were thirteen gentlemen present. Mr Alexander Balfour, merchant, flaxspinner, and manufacturer, was called to the Chair. Mr Thomas Neish, merchant and agent, on behalf of himself and Mr Robert Jobson, Jnr., merchant and agent, reported that Mr David Milne, cashier of the Union Bank, was prepared to let the Bank's two shops at the corner of Wellgate and Cowgate on a five years' lease at a rent of 40, that forty gentlemen had guaranteed the rent, and that seventy~six gentlemen had promised to become subscribers to the project. For the interest of the present generation we here append a list of the originat subscribers:- Andrew Brown, merchant and flaxspinner, 28 Cowgate; h. Balgillo House. Thomas Neish, merchant and agent, Russian Vice-Consul, Cowgate; h. Hawkhil Place. James Gilroy, merchant and manufacturer, Forebank. Robert Jobson, Jnr., merchant and agent, 93 Cowgate. William, Hackney, merchant and flaxspinner, Springhill, Ferry Road. Andrew Webster, merchant and manufacturer, Queen Street; h. King Street. *G. H. Newall, merchant, 27 Cowgate; h. Hawkhill Place. James Thoms, merchant, Burnhead. James Brown, merchant and flaxspinner, Hermonhill (J. & W. Brown, West Ward; office, Wellgate). J. Sanderson, merchant and flaxspinner, Wellgate; h. Union Place, Magdaleny ard. John Gray, merchant and flaxspinner, 62 Murraygate; h. Tay Square. Robert Duff, merchant, Tannage Court; h. Magdalenyard. Alexander Edward, merchant and flaxspinner, Cowgate (A. & D. Edward & Co.). Allan Edward, merchant and agent, Dock Street. William Boyack, flaxspinner, Wellgate; h. Nethergate. Alexander Balfour, merchant, Flaxspinner., and manufacturer, Airlie Lodge (Balfour & Meldrum - Chapelshade Mills; office, Peter Street). *John Paton Jnr., merchant & agent. Samuel Brodle, merchant and agent, 7 4 Cowgate; h. Greenfield Place. John Graham, merchant and agent, Exchange Buildings; h. Hawkhill Place. W. Thornton, merchant and agent, Cowgate. T. W. Miln, agent. John Balfour Meldrum, flaxspinner and manufacturer, Shore. Alexander Pitcairn, merchant. Alexander Browne, agent, Milln's Lodgings, Tannage Court, Cowgate. 4

5 Wellgate. and David Martin, merchant, Bain Square; h. Roseangle. William Ritchie, merchant, 11 Cowgate; h. Tannage Court. John G. Baxter, merchant and flaxspinner, E. Cowgate. James Buist, merchant and manufacturer, 15 St. Andrew's Street. *Francis Molison, merchant and agent, Cowgate; h. Logie House. John Thain, merchant and shipowner, 1 Commercial Street; h. Park Place. P. Duncan, merchant, Peter Street; h. Terrace, Nethergate. George Symers, merchant, Murraygate; h. Magdalenyard Road. Will Baxter, merchant and flaxspinner, E. Cowgate; h. Ellengowan. W. Gordon Baxter, merchant and flaxspinner, E. Cowgate. Williain Collier, merchant, E. Cowgate. Alexander White, Jur., merchant. Hector Turnbull, merchant and bleacher (Turnbull & Co., Claverhouse; office, 81 St. Andrew's Street). Robert Learmonth, merchant, 12 Cowgate; h. King Street. Dav id Duff, merchant (leather merchant, Barrack Street); h. Bellfield, Magdalenyard Road. Robert Matthew, merchant and flaxspinner, E. Cowgate. Archibald Crichton, manager of Sea Insurance Co., E. Cowgate; h. King Street. Will M. Gavin, merchant, 7 and 8 Cowgate, Vice-Consul for Brazil; h. Bonnybank Edward Baxter, merchant, Cowgate, Vice-Consul for U.S.A.; h. Balgay House. Alexander Kinmond, merchant and flaxspinner, St. Andrew's Place, Cowgate. I. Hill, merchant and flaxspinner, Prussian Vice-Consul, Union Street; office, St. Andrew's Street. David Baxter, merchant and Flaxspinner; h. Craigie House. Peter Kinmond, merchant and flaxspinner (Peter Kinmond & Co., St. Roque's Lane). William Halley, merchant and flaxspinner, 7 Wellgate. *James Walker, merchant and flaxspinner, St. Andrew's Street; h. 28 Cowgate. John Hadden, merchant, Castle Street. *David Peters, merchant. W. Johnston, merchant and flaxspinner, Blackness Road. George Nicoll, merchant and manufacturer, King Street. David Keith, merchant, St. Andrew's Street; h. Meadowside. David Martin, Jnr., merchant, Bain Square; h. Roseangle. David Lindsay, merchant and flaxspinner, 56 Wellgate. John Halley, merchant and flaxspinner, Wellgate; h. Meadow Street. Francis Baxter, merchant. Alexander Rowan, Jnr., merchant Dav id Moncur, merchant, 24 Cowgate; h. Perth Road. Will Howe, merchant and manufacturer, Sugarhouse Wynd, E. Cowgate. William Webster, merchant and agent, 11 Wellgate; h. Livelybank. George Turnbull, merchant, St. Andrew's Street. Alexander Dick, merchant and flaxspinner, East end of Seagate, and Blairgowrie; office, Cowgate. W. Kirkcaldy, merchant, 29 Cowgate; h. Mayfield House. *William Duff, merchant, Wellgate; h. Bellfield, Magdalenvard. W. Wrongham, merchant and agent, Wellgate. James Pennycook, merchant and agent, head of Trades Lane, Seagate; h. Forebank Alexander Guthrie, merchant, Wellgate. *Thomas Bell, Jnr., merchant and manufacturer, Shore. John Brown, merchant, Wellgate. Robert Millar, merchant, 18 Cowgate; h. Small's Wynd. James Row, merchant and fiaxspinner, 55 James Thomson, merchant and manufacturer, Perth Road; office, Bain Square. James Lyall, merchant agent, Cowgate. * Alive 21st January, Of these, eight gentlemen were eventually elected to occupy the President's Chair, and it is recorded that at 21st January, 187 6, eight of the original list of subscribers still survived. A Committee of six was appointed by the first meeting to make arrangements, and Mr. Neish was authorised to have necessary furniture made by Peter Maclean. From among fifteen applicants, Peter Fleming, Chapelshade, was appointed first Waiter at a salary of 25, his duty hours being from 8 to. 4, six days a week. Certain newspapers were ordered for the room, and these were sold to Members at certain rates and for possession at certain hours. The annual subscription was fixed at 31/6. (Country subscribers, half price.) The Baltic Coffee House was opened at 9 a.m. on Monday, 29th June, 1835, and a General Meeting of the Subscribers was held between one and two p.m. that day, when the chief object of the Association was recorded in these terms:- To facilitate the obtaining of correct commercial and shipping intelligence, the Committee trust that the subscribers will assist them as much as possible in attaining their object. Those engaged in the Baltic Trade they hope will communicate their latest advices regarding the state of the different markets for flax, hemp, etc.; those in the export trade their latest advices regarding the markets for linens; and those connected with shipping what information they may possess regarding the arrivals and departures of vessels and any other shipping intelligence which they may consider useful and interesting." Mr Neish undertook to obtain writing materials and a shipping book, for which he and Mr Jobson were authorised to engage a keeper at a salary of 8 or 9 per annum. It is interesting to note that a shipping book has 5

6 been kept throughout the whole century, and has only just been dispensed with in view of the altered conditions whereby full and particular shipping information is made available to all by means of the morning and evening newspapers. The details of the first financial statement submitted at the first Annual Meeting on 25th May, 1836, are interesting in their simplicity: 114 Subscribers (whole and part period and one from Arbroath)... paid Advertisements in the Rooms brought in A Sale was charged at Receipts for the year The fittings and fitting up, including charts' of the World, the Baltic, and the U.S.A., cost The newspapers, less sales, cost Rent and Waiter absorbed Taxes, 1 19/8, Coals, 2 13/1, Books and Printing, 5 12/ Leaving a debit balance of only 10 2/2 to be carried forward. At this Meeting Mr James Brown was appointed the first Chairman of the Association, and signed all the Minutes of Committee approved. The Minute of the first Meeting was left for Mr Balfour's signature, but this was never secured. It was at this Meeting:- "The subscribers agreed to resolve themselves into a Chamber of Commerce in addition to the present objects of the subscribers for the purpose of watching over and protecting the mercantile interests of the community, and that the present Committee of Management (David Baxter, James Thoms, Thomas Neish, G. H. Newall, James Brown, and Robert Jobson, Jnr.) be authorised to take the necessary steps for carrying the present resolution into effect." In such wise was the Dundee Chamber of Commerce launched one hundred years ago. We have travelled far since then, much has happened, conditions have altered, the outlook has entirely changed, yet the same objects remain the main purpose for which the Chamber exists. In these days newspapers were dear as they were subject to a stamp duty, but in June of 1836 the Members had in view the imminent abolition of this duty, and made provision for purchasers of the papers in the Reading Room should the abolition occur in the course of that half year. On 10th August, 1836, following correspondence with Collector Colin Symers, there is minuted a Meeting of merchants, manufacturers, and shipowners, under the Chairmanship of Mr Alexander Balfour of Airlie Lodge, where it was resolved:- 1 st. That the present Custom House, from its very Inconvenient situation and great height, being in a third storey, upwards of forty steps from the ground, has been long much and justly complained of by the merchants, shipowners, and traders in general. 2nd. That this Port, from the great increase of its trade and shipping, is now the second in Scotland and the first in point of dock accommodation, and, therefore, the present Custom House is in every way quite inadequate to its wants, or what Dundee as a port requires or is entitled to have. 3rd. That for the above and other reasons a new Custom House in a more convenient situation, with more extensive interior accommodation, is absolutely necessary. 4th. That a Committee of six be now appointed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying the above resolutions into effect. The very inconvenient Custom House referred to was evidently the ancient building on the west side of the Greenmarket - Drummond House or Drummond Castle, as it was called, made famous in "The Yellow Frigate It was notable for its ornamental arches in its lowest storey, and for its decapitated towers, finished off with sloping roofs. It having been found that the new Custom House planned was to cost 2000 more than the 9500 voted by the Government, the Chamber of Commerce, in July 1840, memorialised the Treasury on the subject. In the following year, on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the building, Mr Symers was entertained to a public dinner in recognition of his public services. In the early years of the Chamber, trading and manufacturing were carried on under much the same difficulties as to-day. The duties on linens entering foreign countries were the subject of much discussion, frequent appeals for the support of the local M.P's., and many memorials to the Government. France and the U.S.A. were taking toll of the linens exported to them, and the Member for Dundee, Sir Henry Parnell, was successful in preventing additional duties being imposed by France on linens and yarns. The U.S.A. charged 15% and 20% on flax and hemp goods, except osnaburgs, burlaps, and tecklenbergs. There were local troubles too - the length of the web, the weavers' ell, the stealing or embezzlement of rags, thrums, backgoing ends, and even yarns all called for action in various ways. Weavers broke their service engagements, or boycotted, as we would say to-day, a particular employer, while on the other hand competition was keen, a weaving feat being recorded when eight bolts of canvas were turned out in a working week, the hours of labour being 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Inventions, too, had their effect, and in the "hungry forties" great distress was experienced in the district, and the Factory Act and the ten hour day were topics for very serious discussion and action. 6

7 It will be interesting to our present-day readers with knowledge of the Dundee Institute of Art and Technology and the Scottish Committee on Art and Industry, that the Chamber of 1851 was concerned with the establishment of a School of Design in Dundee. An outstanding subject of discussion was the agitation for the repeal of the Corn Laws, and an equally burning question was that of Free Trade. The Chamber of Commerce of the day was particularly pressing in their support of both causes, and Cobden visited Dundee in these connections. The fact that Sir Robert Peel and John Bright are commemorated by life size marble busts in the Chamber's Reading Room is evidence of the worth in which Members of 1850, or thereby, held these great political champions. One reads with interest that on 29th July, 1847, the Chamber agreed "to attend in a body the Parliamentary Election in Dundee on 2nd August to express approbation of the late Member, Mr George Duncan, who is a candidate." In 1853 Mr Duncan was honoured with his portrait as a testimonial, and served as MP. for some years after till The beginning of the present arbitration system, whereby disputes between merchants and others are settled by reference to Arbiters appointed by the Chamber, are to be found as far back as 1837, when a Committee was appointed to settle disputes without litigation. During these early years, business at the Harbour fluctuated greatly, now increasing by leaps and bounds and again falling away seriously. In 1838 occurred the wreck of the Dundee steamer "Forfarshire," and the renowned rescue by Grace Darling. New shipyards were constructing in 1840, and the Harbour Engineer, Mr Leslie, won the Telford Medal in recognition of his work for the Port. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert landed at Dundee in 1840, and in recognition of' their loyal welcome, sent a donation of 100 towards the erection of Public Baths at the Harbour. Their visit is commemorated by the Royal Arch spanning the entrance to the quay between Earl Grey and King William Docks. Among recorded cargoes of these years we find mention of the first cargoes of live stock, teak, and cheese, and the opening of the port to the tea, tobacco, and East Indian trade. A great event was an excursion to Hamburg organised by the Dundee, Perth, and London Shipping Company. In these days the Tay Ferries were not in a good way, and the Loan Commissioners entered into possession of the Ferry. Later the Tay Ferries Act was passed in 1843, and the old Dundee Bank bought up the Commissioners claim in To this period belongs the development of the railway, which gradually transformed methods of business and speeded up out of recognition the picturesque old stage coach days. The Dundee and Newtyle Railway - the first railway in Scotland was already in operation, and doing so well that special summer traffic arrangements had to be undertaken. In 1838 the Dundee and Arbroath Railway was opened, and completed in 1840, when it was utilised for the transport of mails. In 1845 the Dundee and Perth Railway Act was passed, and the following year the Newtyle Railway was taken over by that company. In 1847 came the Edinburgh and Perth Railway, and on completion of the Dundee and Perth line to Barnhill, Perth (there was no railway bridge over the Tay at Perth), the horse coaches were withdrawn. The same year, the Edinburgh and Northern Railway was in operation as far north as Cupar Fife and Lindores, and between then and 1851 arrangements were made for a train ferry between Tayport and Broughty Ferry, a similar ferry being in operation on the Forth. Following the advance of the railways came the gradual improvement in the mail service. In 1837 the Chamber was requisitioned to open the Coffee House between 6 and 8 p.m. for the arrival of the London mail, which then took two whole days on the way. Later that year Rowland Hill's plan for a stamped penny cover was brought out. Penny postage was before Parliament in 1839, and came into operation in The pushing further and further north of the English railways made acceleration of the mail service possible, and by the middle of 1844 the London mail was reaching Dundee in 30 hours, while yesterday's newspapers began to be available next morning instead of next midday. This speeding up brought about necessary changes in the local delivery arrangements. The Surveyor of the day appears to have done all he could to see that business letters reached the Cowgate at the earliest moment. In 1846 plans were being made for the new Post Office which was to be built at the top of Reform Street, and which has now been removed, the present large building a little further west having taken its place these many years past. To-day, we grouse if last night's London mail is not in our offices in the morning, and the morning's London papers must be available by early afternoon. The telegraphed news service was begun in The Directors, even in the early days we speak of, had trouble with the party responsible for the due delivery of the news sheets, and irregularities cost the messenger his job. The first and Great Exhibition of 1851, promoted by the Prince Consort, was a movement in which the Dundee Chamber of Commerce took an active interest and prepared for two or three years ahead. Much time was consumed in these days in carrying through the arrangements for such an unheard of and colossal undertaking. Its success was such that in 1853 we find the Directors of the Chamber considering a project for a Great Industrial Exhibition for Scotland. As the years rolled on it was found that the accommodation at the Baltic Coffee House - even extended as it had been - was too limited for the Membership, and plans for new premises were approved in June. Shares of 25 were issued in a Company formed to erect the Royal Exchange on a site on the north side of the Meadows, and the required amount had soon been subscribed. It was a private venture among the "Cowgate" themselves, and entirely outside the Baltic Coffee House or Chamber of Commerce. A new Constitution of the Chamber was agreed to in November 1855, and the following month the Chamber agreed to lease the new Exchange from the Company at a rent of 225, as from Whitsunday The internal arrangements were mainly as at present. The splendid upper flat was utilised as a Reading Room, with Committee Room and other offices, while what was designated as "Hall for Chamber of Commerce" was on the ground floor, where the daily exchange and market was held then at one o'clock. A bar was fitted up in the Tower. 7

8 At this time the arrangement was made that Chamber Membership and Reading Room Membership should be entirely separate, and this held good until a number of years ago. In September 1867, the British Association held their Annual Meetings in Dundee, and on that occasion the Directors put their buildings at the disposal of the visitors. While Dundee was a garrison town, the Reading Room was made available to the Officers of the Regiments quartered in our midst, and for a period of years the spacious Merchants' Exchange was given up for the popular promenade concerts arranged for the New Year holidays-concerts which began about midday and provided varied performances continuously till 10 p.m. John Cowper was appointed first Waiter at the Royal Exchange, his salary being fixed at 50 with a house in the Tower. William Gregory was appointed second Waiter at 14/- per week. John continued in the service of the Chamber till 1891, when he was pensioned off. At the present time one old Waiter, David Ogilvy, appointed on 14th November, 1890, is in pensioned retirement. In March 1867 it was found necessary to carry through a ballot for election of Directors - about the only occasion on which such a thing has been found necessary. An interesting item appears in the Minutes for 1st June, 1856, where there are copied two letters from David Livingstone, the missionary and explorer, who sent to the Chamber samples of fibre suitable for weaving which he had brought home from his African journeys. From 1860 onwards, jute began to assume equal importance along with linen in the records and the acts of the Chamber, and was conjoined with flaxens in the Memorials, Reports, and Import and Export Duty Propaganda of the Chamber. For a few years prior to 1864, the granting of a Charter of Incorporation had been repeatedly brought forward as one to which the Chamber was entitled, and which would extend its influence, increase its membership, broaden its interest, lend still greater weight to the results of its deliberations, and entitle it to representation on various bodies, commercial and otherwise. The Charter of 1864 continued in operation until after the Great War, when it was deemed desirable that the Directorate should be increased, that the various trade organisations which had materialised in the interval should obtain direct representation of their particular interests, and that still more ample powers should be obtained. Accordingly, His late Majesty King George V. was graciously pleased to re-incorporate the Chamber under the Royal Charter of Under the new Charter the Chamber has increased greatly in all its activities. Affairs connected with the Port were matters of considerable importance to trade and commerce, and it is not to be wondered at that Harbour matters bulked largely in the deliberations of the Chamber. Very careful and detailed consideration was given to all the proposals of the Harbour Authority for additional powers. Frequent meetings took place between the representatives of both, and Memorials and Objections were lodged against the Harbour Bills. In 1869 the Chamber obtained the right to appoint three of the Trustees of the Harbour. A report is received from these Trustees at a Special Meeting of the Chamber held annually each November. Municipal matters, too, were keenly looked into and subjected to much the same course of procedure. Water, Gas, Public Health, and many other projects of the Town Council were carefully considered in the interests of the community, and action taken as they were approved or disapproved. It must, in fairness, be stated that judgment was never given until the Chamber was possessed of all the information available on the subject, that the good of the whole community was as carefully considered as were the interests of trade and commerce, that a spirit of conciliation and compromise was always present, and that direct action was only resorted to when all other means had failed-the financial aspect of litigious procedure for both parties never being allowed to be overlooked. Similarly, parliamentary affairs received much attention, and the Chamber of the day was not slow to express approval or state objections to Bills before Parliament even to the extent of allying themselves with what we to-day look upon as pure politics, and, therefore, to be banned from the proceedings of a corporation comprehending all shades of political opinion. The fact that marble busts of Fox, Peel, and Bright adorn the Reading Room to-day indicate the strong political leanings of the middle of last century. Postal arrangements and, later, telegraph and telephone systems were frequent subjects of discussions and representation-the aid of the local M.P's. and the Postmaster-General being sought as seemed necessary. There can be no doubt that the Chamber saw to it that no delay occurred in remedying defects of service, whether these were internal or external, and due to whatever cause. To the efforts of the Chamber, the Town Council, and others we owe the splendid postal service we enjoy to-day. The Directors of to-day are just as ready as their predecessors were to stimulate this or any other Government Department that attempts to overlook Dundee in the matter of facilities. Investigations, correspondence, interviews, and memorials were many on the subject of tariffs, which, like the poor, we have always with us, and a fair amount of success attended the efforts of the Directors in having these mitigated or removed. The supply of the raw material and the conditions under which it was available, along with the latest inventions for its manipulation, were carefully watched. The old and present railway bridges over the Tay at Dundee were utilitarian projects from the outset to be commended, but the practical working out of the bridge arrangements called for a deal of consideration. 8

9 The Tay defences, Tay pilotage and lighting, and railway amalgamations, the birth of the Prince Imperial, and the claim of Sir James Brooke of Sarawak, are some other of the many matters chat were brought before the Directors and pushed to a suitable conclusion. On 29th December, 1869, mention is made of the strong desire existing for the removal of the textiles market from the Cowgate to a safer, quieter, and less congested spot to the west of the Royal Exchange. Mention is made of the failure, although agreed to by the Chamber, and even signed for by members of the Chamber, to fall in with the new arrangements. They were attended to for a day or so and then the merchants were back in their old haunts. The question came up again and again, and it was only after another room was leased on the ground floor of the Exchange, and a threat made by the Superintendent of Police that the gathering would be forcibly cleared out of the Cowgate if they continued to meet on that street, that the market for merchants and manufacturers was finally removed to the neighbourhood of the Royal Exchange the Chamber of Commerce purchased the Royal Exchange, the office premises adjoining on the west, and vacant ground in front, and about 1881 this vacant site was utilised for the erection of the present Merchants' Exchange, a most convenient, useful, and lofty hall in which the daily market is held, and in connection with which various business facilities are available. The erection of the Merchants' Exchange cost about 1,7 00, and it was built to the plans of the late Mr J. Murray Robertson, Architect. In 1898 an insurance company erected a suite of offices on the north side of the Tower, and the Directors took the opportunity to purchase the second flat, thus adding a large Board Room to the accommodation of the Royal Exchange. In 1917 the Directors leased the Secretary's Office at 3 Bank Street, in the Board Room attached to which the Directors now hold their monthly meetings. The Chamber has a right to appoint one of the Governors of the University College, Dundee, and in 1882, their first representative on that body was appointed in the person of Mr H. B. Fergusson, a gentleman still fondly remembered as a highly capable and most eloquent speaker. When Sir David Baxter, a former President, and his sisters originally gave the Baxter Park to Dundee, the President, Vice-President, and Ex-President of the Chamber were nominated as Trustees along with representatives of the workers. The park has long since been taken over by the Town Council and administered as one of the public parks. During the last century the Chamber saw to it that its manufactures were fittingly represented at all the great exhibitions. In the Great War, Dundee played a heroic part. Most certainly the city pulled its full weight, and recruiting was easy. It is a sad fact that the Annual Report of March 1916 refers to the congratulations sent by the Chamber in June 1915 to Colonel Harry Walker, 4th Black Watch, a former President, on the honour of C.M.G. conferred upon him, and mourns the death of that gallant officer along with many other officers and men of the city battalion killed in action on 25th September, During its existence the Chamber has had the service of eighty-four Presidents. It is gratifying to be able to present our readers with portraits of all of them, with one exception, and a few brief notes on each. They were and are all of them men eminent in the business life of their day, and notable for the active interest and ungrudging work they performed on behalf of trade and commerce, not only in their district, but for the country at large. At a meeting of Harbour Ratepayers, convened by the Chamber of Commerce in 1864, it was stated by one of the audience that all the gentlemen present (Chamber of Commerce and others) were either members of the Nine Incorporated Trades or of the Guildry Incorporation. These two bodies were each entitled to representation on the Harbour Board and other Institutions. Many of the Presidents of the Chamber served the community on the Trades, Guildry, and other public bodies, on the Town Council, and in the Magistracy. At feast six of them have occupied the Provost's Chair with advantage to the community and great credit to themselves. The century has seen but three Secretaries: At the outset the secretarial work of the Baltic Coffee House and Chamber of Commerce was attended to by Mr James Brown, but in 1840 Mr Robert Sturrock, of the Dundee Savings Bank, was appointed Secretary. Mr Sturrock continued in that capacity for the long period of fifty years. On the occasion of his retiral in 1890 he was presented with a gold watch and chain and a purse containing 400 guineas as a token of the respect and esteem in which he was held by the Members of the Chamber. Mr Sturrock was succeeded by Mr George C. Keiller, Merchant, who discharged the duties of the office with great acceptance until failing health and the access of work which the war years imposed induced him to resign in Mr Keiller will be remembered for his fine appearance. He was the most courteous and gentlemanly of men, and was greatly loved by all who were fortunate in having his acquaintance. On his retiral he was made the recipient of a handsome testimonial to his worth as Secretary. The present Secretary, Mr George R. Donald, Solicitor, was appointed during his absence on war service, and on his discharge in 1918, took over the duties, which had in the interval been undertaken by his partner, the late Mr Henry A. Pattullo. The last nineteen years have seen a great expansion in the work of Chambers of Commerce. The Membership of the Chamber has greatly increased. The pioneer scheme of certificates for passes in groups of commercial subjects, referred to more particularly elsewhere, has been in successful operation for the past eighteen years. For seventeen years the Chamber has published a valuable Year Book, giving information about the city's industries, which keeps before the world the manufacturers to be had from Dundee. 9