The Arkansas banner., 1843-12-02

goods, one years Imprisonment, and at the ,end of the year the left hand was cut of in
 some public market, and there nailed up to
 public view! For the second offence, it was
 felony. It has only been, in the present cen
 tury, repealed--as late as in lS24-5. To protect manufacturers, 1t was also, until the
 reign of George w., provided that no artist
 should settle abroad and there were heavy
 penalties provided against all who should vii-
 olae the law, and against any who might in-
 duce artists to depart the kingdom to settle in
 foreign countries. With this example in her
 criminal code, we have also presented to us,
 Tn the history of her manufactures, that she
 was not scrupulous on the subject when it
 became necessary to have the skill of the fo-
 relgn artist. In the l4th century, Edward
 the III. took advantage of the dscontents of
 the Flemish weavers, and invited them to set
 tle Ill his dominlons-thus punishing her own
 artlsts ioi gong abroad, and inducing those
 oi other nations to leave their own countries
 to advance English manufactures. We arc : informed by an old writer, of the attractive arguments which were used to the Flemish
 weavers. They were 0to feed on fat beef
 and mutton, till nothing but their fullness
 should stint their stomachs; their beds
 should be good, and their bed-felows better,
 seeing the rich yeomen in England would
 not disdaln to marry their daughters unto
 them; and such the English beauties that the
 most envious foreigners could not but com mend themo
 From that period until the present, England has adopted in every mode the law of FORCE instead of freedom, in reference to all her in- terests. At one time almost all the pursuits of life were the subject of monopoly. The [ most odious form of these monopolies arose
 from the exercise of an arbitrary power, i
 favor of the iayorites of the reigning sovereigns until check was given to it in the l7th cen tury, Tn the reign of James l. From indivi. duals itpassed into the hands of corporation.
 and particular classes and restrictions in the
 form ol prohibitions, either directly or in the
 form of high duties, were imposed in favol oi manufactures. France and England, m
 sustaining the delusion of what was termed the
 commercial system, seemed to vie with each other in heavy duties, restrictions on i'm
 portatons, and bounties and premiums on exportations. "'fhe regulating mania which
 It inspired has tormented industry in tbo,l- sand ways, to force it from it's natural cham nels." It's results have been deleterious ev. cry way The imposition of heavy duties m cases where 1t did not amount to actual prohibition, caused the accumulation of an immense revenue, ill form in which expe- f rience teaches us, the greatest amounts can be drawn from the people without complaint and which tends to extravagance and proni-
 gacy in expenditure. Further: it affords 6 pretext for taxing directly the protected inte. ; rest. In speech of Sir Robert Peel abou the time of his coming into admin stra ton, this sentiment appears and the tax or the real estate of Great Britain will fully il : lustrate its truth. Concurently with thi, 3 policy, there has grown up between the sta,el 2 of England and France jealousy, founded
 on the false idea that the prosperity of botl countries Is incompatible, and cannot exis f at the same time. Hence legislation ane . counter legislation, restriction and counter.
 restriction, project and counter-project, not with the view to t.le general happiness of the | people on the two sides of the channel, nol [ to justice and common right; but with 1; view to partial advantages and the innictior of reciprocal injuries.
 These principles, however, are giving way; nay, have given way, and are overthrown by d the advocates of freedom of pursuit, and tn, 0 opponents of restriction and partial legisla [, ton; and now the operatives of England ar ,t demanding, almost in the voice of revolution 1t more liberal laws on the subject ofimportatio = especially repeal of the odious corn-laws l. The struggle arising out of this despotisn d over human pursuits has caused many of tn e modern wars. Nations have struggled b l force or fraud to overreach each other; an ]; the result has been, too often, a resort to tn t nltima ratio regu,n, and ending their dispute s in the desoation of the provinces, and sweep l, ing away the interests which they went [ e war to protect.
 D But there is another view of tIlis subjec T The Napoleonic wars have left all the go | vernments. of Europe more or less in debt : These debts are rather increased than dimi !, nished. The interest on these debts is i'm
 mense. That of England, for example, re - quires about four or five times as much [ n pay it of, annually, as the whole expense ( Y the United States Government Add to thi. il her expenditure besides is about four time n as much as ours should Dc. Her whole re }, venue falls but little short of two hundre 2 aid forty millions Of dollars per year. s : milar remarks might be made of France - Holland, Austria, Sc. Hence, what was one d protection, in the form of duty, is now una d uoidablc taration England may talk to he
 own people of protection, and she may y l. have the odious feature of partial legislatIo n between different interests; yet her ow 5. statesmen know, and the statesmen of otht '- nations know, that she cannot take off th e taxes without bankrupting her governmen l. and paralyzing her power.
 d Such is the example before us. Who woul ,f follow it' England, with her splendor an
 her wretchedness, her wealth and her DO, e erty, her wisdom and her ignorance, he Il princes and her palaces, her beggars and he + habitations where famine and crime meet to > gether to complete the picture of huma + degradation and human suflerlng-who, j. ask, would follow her example, for the sak e of her glory' If l might be allowed to IT !, yoke the choicest boon ofheaven in my cour tr,- t eho,,lJ not he the artificial Clorips th,