The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-05-09
PREFERABLE DOCTRINE IN FRANCE

great people!
FREE-TRADE DOCTRINE IN FRANCE.
The leading journal in France, the Journal dss
DsSats, has broken ground fully in favor Of freer
commercial policy than has heretofore prevailed in
that kingdom, and seems to be pressing its new doc
trne with earnestness and energy. The final re-
suit Of such a movement when fairly s-foot in
the country Of the "Economstes"-the centre oflib-
era ideas on the continent for the last 6fty years
cannot be doubtful The whole policy Of France
has, indeed, hitherto been eminenty restrictive.
The great revolutionary convusion in which its
new liberties were born, was movement rather
social than political in its character. IL paritioned the
soil anew, but il eft embedded in the soil many Of
the prejudices Of the ancient regime. Among these
relics Of the past the restrictive, or rather the
prohibitiye, system devised and sustained in the
days Of Louis XIV by the administrative &c
MUS OF Colbert. But new social world in
France is now demanding new politics. And the
existing restrictions on French commercial industry
arc destined to follow in the footsteps of the
droiL de srignemie and the old eorpe.. Il is
remarkable, too, how this movement begins in
France. France finds instruction in the example Of
England. This is the old historical order Of things.
The great writers who in the last century, changed
the face Of the French mind, were the pupils
Of England Volaire lived in the same house with
Pope and Bolingbroke, studied Shakespeare at the
old Drury Lane Theatre, learned the principles
Of federation in Locke and Jeremy Taylor, and
went back to begin new era on the French stage
and to rouse the indignation of Europe, when re-
h,io, Ia Cala L.
queu dgcsted his observations Of the working Of the
British constitution into his famous esprit of Laws"
and in our own day, Dumont has expouAded to
Europe the legal philosophy Of Bentham, which
had for years slept on the upper shelf Of the Eng
| lish booksellers, in the grabbed old mans strange
| jargon which he called style, or else had lain
locked up in the deeper darkness Of his undscyphsr-
able hysrogyphics. France, as has well been said,
has been throughout, to the English mind, what
Aaron was to Moses, the spokesman, the interpre-
ter between England and mankind. The French
men have pop,larizsd the great social doctrines
which Englishmen have discovered. So it has been,
and so it is, with free trade. Adam Smith found his
rudments in the "Economistcs I" Through Smith
the truths of political economy have found and are
finding their way into the debates Of Parliament,
and writing themselves down on the Eng
lish statute book. Thence they will ere long be
transferred to the "code" of France, and 30 Of Eu-
rope.
But we forgetting, in this DEPRESSION, the pas
sage which we proposed to translate from the
Journal des Dsbdts. We have before alluded to the
position of that paper as clothing its opinions with
importance. We call attention now to its tone in
| III orticI Of ria
system, the European movement on the subject is
Of deep and present Government to our legislative
counsels. leading objection to more liberal
commercial policy on our part, has been the alleged
impraCtcabihty Of its general adoption among ma
tons .NoD the world seems moving on to realize
it. The democrats in the Capitol begin their con-
stitutional work with good omens The free-traders
may, as in the old superstition, hear "thunder on
| their left"
The article to which we refer in the Debds, after
describing some recent free-trade manifestations in
the manufacturing cities-Lyons, Rheims, and
Bourdeaux-and pointing out the injury caused to
mercial negotiations opened between France and
Belgium, thus proceeds:
at is but yesterday, as it were, that freetrade
ideas, even when presented with extreme modcra-
tion with studied regard to popular preiudces and
special recognition Of the duty of government to
protect vested interests, received with il.con-
ceaed contempt. These are Utopian visions, it
was said. Adam Smith was a mailman; the econo.
mists were dreamers; and to merit the name of "a
practical man. it was indispensable to receive the
proposition of partial freedom of trade with an
| incredulous smile. The practical man. in CONNER
cal matters was he who boosted Of having no one
fixed principle, who had neither written anything,
nor read anything but to amuse himself at the pot-
ical economists
elbow is it with the practical men nowadays
Is Sir Robert Peel practical man. The avowal
which he has recently made of his old restrictive
illusions-is it an error, or is it the act of grea,
statesman strong in his intelligent and conscien-
tions convictions The splendid homage which he
lately paid to the memory Of Adam Smiths il,
too, the enthusiasm of dreaming schoo!-boyi We
know well what the protectioDists will say this is
all a cunning trick Of per6dious Albion. England
producing everything cheaper than other nations
has nothing to fear from general reduction OF
tariffs let us not be duped by this hostile trick
r "Gran-surely article at least as important as
any other-Engand does not produce cheapy-nor
yet glasses, nor paper, nor silks, fancy articles.
The act of her government is act in good faith,
4 the result of deep conviction. And this convic-
ton plants itself on facts This is made manifest by
the initiative in this measure of free trade, without
waiting for corresponding action on the part Of any
: other government, In this England does not drive
legislative bargain with other nations. She
gives them legislative example. 1t is an act of
enlightened policy. 1t is positive demonstration
in favor of the peace of the world for which gives
precious pledge. What is passing in England
must in France, elsewhere, in favor Of the
free-trade movement conclusion Of the prohbiive
system, a modification Of the tariff system, and an
increased freedom of exchange. That formidable
! metaphor Of tribute paid to foreign nation will
lose it's power and its charm. Men will compre-
bend the general fact that commercial transactions
profit both the negotiating parties-wbether nations
Or individuals. Already some governments, yield
ing to the example Of England, show signs Of the
change. Absolute prohibitions viii disappear
among the nstons-with us, at least, they viii dis
appear, where they are now so numerous. The