Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1844-01-09
CoMMERclAL CATEcHLsM.

QUEsTl oNs.-Who were the frst CON.
merciaI people ofwhom history treats.
ANswER. - The PhB1ecians. aes
@. What Occasioned the decline Of
their commercial prosperity. s-...
A. Oppressive rulers endeaVOred TO
amaSs Weslth by enormous taxation Of
commerce; this cliPpled the enterprise Of
the people, and her cities sdWindled
away and her plains were left uncultiya-
ted.
O.. Was Tyre ever coDquered5
A. II changed hands; but il contin-
ued to flourish while its trade was free.
@. Were the Grecian s.a;es pscun;ar..
lily prosperousg. r.s. 3,
A. Attica and Corinth were rich, but
Lacedemon was exceedingly poor.
@. What occasioned the diffeTence2
A, The lDwsofSparta contained ta-
riff of prohibition, the avowed object Of
which was to keep the people poor. II
was found TO answer this purpose admira'
bly,; as indeed, It ever has, but the power.
ty Of The people did not render them more
free, as the law giver declared It would,
Lacedamon ever tetained the most arbl
rary andilIibefal government in Greece.
But the rulers Of Athens and CoriRtb fos-
tered commerce, manufactures, and ag'
rculture, by allowing the people 70 eX.
change the products Of their industry with
all nations, with little or no restriction
the consequence Of which was that they
became the richest and freest states Of
antiquity o,sas r.sa, Gaun3s r aur
O. What was the source OF the wealth
of Carthages
A. CoKmerce, aided by the products
Of agriculture and the arts, which receiV-
cd their impetus frem the facilities afford
ed by nature and the government for The
exchange with other nations of the results
Of productive industry.
@. Did Carthage alwayspursue q lib.
eral policy towards tho industrial class
esq
A. No. With her gIOwth an aristocra.
cy grew up, to sustain aad protect which
she imposed duties on commerce. She
restricted the intercourse with Rome hop,
ing TO project thereby certain classes al
home, and break down the competition Of
the Italiaps, ... " s -.
@. What was the resultf
A.. Carthage was bloLted from exist
ence as a nation.
@. What policy did the Romans
pursue in their dealings with other ma.
liOns7 .rsr ....sgaaa.sJ ig ssaai341so1'
a A. Their policy was variable, but gen.
orally restrictive. ~
@. And yet they fourished.
A. BY the force Of arms only. The
greater portion of both the republic and
the empires was always poor. Vhe i'm
perial city was enriched by the trophies
Of war; the spOils Of natiOn;-and other
cities we're granted an immunity, TO
greater or less extent, from the operas
lions OF commercial restrictions, and they
became rich. In later periods of the hiss
tory Of the empire, we find that the gov.
ernme mt not only discouraged intercourse
with foreign countries ;but it levied heavy
contributions on the intercourse between
countries which acknowledged the imps
rial supremacy.
@. What was The effect of this?
A. 1t was principal agent in bringing
on night Of ignorance and barbarism
which history has appropriately named
the 'dark ages ru..l N.l.. p
O.. From whece did the first light
dawn upon this benighted era5 IA
A.. From the republican cities Of the
north of Italy. rr,a .am IA .n4 '
81 @, What brought these states orcit-
les out of barbarism? ,lapo5 tiai 10 all1l
A. The freedom trem commercial 70
sirictiOn enjoyed in thsssI small states
awoke aspirit oCiFading enterprise among
the people. They bscsmeaihs carrie
Of the world. The markets furnished B.
commerce lostered agriculture and man
ufacturers. Wealth and knowledge flow
ed with the current of. tIade;5 aud Ih,
unanimous voice Of f,histOry has accorded
to these little republics the honor of re
covering Europe from barbarism.s 90
iaQ. Did these states continue to b.
smalll 81 bs aa5-b
4 A. Their territory was always small
but their wealth was immense, and the
| became the mistresses Of the world.
/ @. What was the cause of the declin
of these states? r.
a. The decline of the trade whic
gave them birth. This commercial de
cline was the result Of the taxes imPose'
4 lOn national intercourse, and the war
: which grew out of their attempts to mo
noPOlize.