"New York Chamber of Commerce.
"At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, held Thursday, April 1st, 1875, Hon. William E. Dodge, president, in the chair, the following resolutions offered by Hon. George Opdyke were unanimously adopted:
"Resolved, That Governor Tilden, true to his honorable record against the fraudulent Ring officials of this city, has now placed the citizens of our whole State under lasting obligations by his bold and masterly exposure of the enormous frauds connected with the administration of the New York canals.
"Resolved, That this Chamber, as the oldest commercial organization of the State and the one expressly authorized by charter to speak in the name of the entire commercial interests, feels specially called upon to express its gratitude to the Governor for his fearless and vigorous effort to arrest the frauds, so discreditable to the character of our State and so injurious to its commercial interests.
"His effort deserves the commendation and hearty support of every citizen of the State.
"Resolved, That this special message of the Governor on 'canal frauds' is in perfect harmony with the views he expressed in his annual message. In that document he manifested broad and accurate knowledge in relation to the present condition of the canals, clearly pointed out their defects, and suggested the remedies that he deemed essential to their increased efficiency and productiveness; and also to the integrity and economy of their administration. Among the remedies he suggests are a proper disposition of the unproductive lateral canals, the securing a uniform depth of seven feet in the waterway of the Erie Canal, and modifications in the present plan of administering them.
"Resolved, That, in the judgment of the Chamber, it is absolutely essential to the efficient management of these canals that this department of the State government should be under the control of a single executive head, appointed by the Governor and Senate, and removable at the pleasure of the Governor, with power to appoint and remove his subordinates, and who alone should be held responsible for the proper management of the canals. All experience goes to prove that this is the only safe method of securing efficiency, fidelity, and economy in the administration of public affairs.
"Resolved, That this Chamber will watch with deep interest the progress of this praiseworthy effort of the Governor to secure perfect integrity in the Canal Department, and will aid that effort by all proper means within its power.
"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, duly authenticated by the officers of the Chamber, be forwarded to his Excellency, Governor Tilden."