, 1859-05-28

4 standard topic witt! the English newspa-
!pr rn.ss is .l,ncr;'7,1I immortality in commci-
cial matters. Upon this tiscme. fruitful enough
to our shame M it sai:, itis,l,c delight Of Our
Enslisl, friends 10 indulge Their comments
have beea vigorous, trcucl,aur and frequently
exaggerated. But, though their reproofs hayc
sometimes se2:n.d hard, and their conlemna
tions too sweeping, they have been generally
accepted rs not whaily undrscrvcd: aud Anl:r-
leans who have deplurcd tue frequent lo7gel
'aln.ss, in this country Of tic cauons Of riIh,
add WRONG, in their application to commercially
affairs. have not heen slow to express tlleir
thansfuluess that they have so wise aud di:
rrect 4 moui;or hy whom their departures from
tie lnop''r standard could be lovingly rcproyed
willie all hayr supposed from the high and
pl!aras:sisz,l .lluc that our neighbors hare c!,o
scn to adopt, llla' tho English dealers Of MI
classes wcru wholly exempt from the sins with
which corresponding s'.;rses in America were
So often chan :ed But recent indiscroct rc;c.
la:io:ls made by that most radical and dcstruc.
lire Of all the foreign quarterlics-thc ErSt-
minister E-ri~n-will raise the suspicion thai
thc preachers who have rated Our pcnI,le 50
severely for their vices, we're under no ncccs-
*i,v Of lravcilia. :eross ii. ocean for Offending
hearers 1T whom to lluuc!l their auatl,cnas.-
Ac oriinc ,o iha. unnpeacl,ab1c authority
thu every day transactions among English
1ra,i'.s,les are nothing la,t complications tf
<>!,eatinss and frauds. What with the well
knaw.n authorizations Of mest articles Of f,,ud
nd lri:lS-:lnur: meal, sugar. bread hecr, wine
spirits, e1,liec 1,:l and the -adultcratits
that ar. learle,; aud constantly rracti.ed us Il
rart II tie business ort:1osc who sell the articles
,an:d. and vh:cl,. commenced h:: importer ard
o'; o:s. a. carried On thereafter iy every onc
3i:rou-'s whnsc l,ants ,lt,sc commodities may
1'ass what with thu tricls ofgToccrs, the short
wci-',ts md insufficient measures in use i,y
Most -,tailrr:. the frauds ii commercial ira.
rcler:, l;r: encouragement Of lying in rol-
1loyccs. t!!e tl.ri-"s of manufacturers, the
shifts n: 1a:.!lc- the use If rrscl la1".1>
'tlHA l!!C iA1@s%@a%f VI
for the s"rvlnss pf ttlosc to whom l,c soils ani
for the t!4vns uf tlose of whom he buys the dis
Aoau.ly q. ;'auks and the 1.raspines Of thusc
isho ]oar.;:t ,lsurious rsstea-it Is Impossible
@'r III English shor-keeper to be strictly l,o,,.
cat. liz mist fall into the current and do us
others d.'. or Iose his capital or retire tran
business. TAsra il 10 sxl. thing. the review
er canG,gscs, ny combination Of strict truth
telling and a"ca1nuLuing profits. 1t is CHOICE
wiki the dc:tlcr between ii surrender OF COL.
sc!entn and loss Of money. These things
are III. confined 10 the petty dealers, That
historical character, the British Merchant.
ideal:x:d IL. Mr.. Dickens in tile Clecrv1le
brothers. comes III for his share Of dcnuncia-
lion. t'ur authority says:
Between the many forms Of tl,at which is vul.
-ar'y called huu'hug. aud the direct crimes nf
which tradcrs IRE sometimes guilty, tlerc lie
sl.iao..rsties Of various erades u Righteousness
and Harluns degrees o! prevalence; and 1ilek,
committed not by retailers ouly but I,ey
ritiate the mort extensive transactions II
agents, wholesale houses and manufacturers. ii
il mot true. rs many suppose, that only the low
CI %1as=s@ VI thf EoAa9htICsht HOT!u 8Ec Eutttt III
fraudulent deaiing: thofe nbore them arr to n
great extent b'a'neworshs. That the larger
traders dispiay in other shapes = like want Of
principle witl, the smaller, may indeed be sus-
pectcd n-to.i. II can scarcely be that on the
average those rllo deal in bales and tons differ
widely in morality from tllo~e who deal in yards
and pounds. We may presume that their mis-
doings simply take 4 less concrete firm, or
como less conspicuously before the public. And
VIC are not deceived in this conclusion. I1|icit
pr tcticcs Of ercry form and sbade, from veninl
deception up " all but direct theft, may be
brought I,ctac 10 ti.c higher grades Of our co.a.
mcrc.al world. TriAA innumcrablc, lies acted
or uttered. claborate!5 devised frauds arc pre-
valens-many of them established IS - customs
81 slc trade" nay. not only established, but de-
Tended. To a terrible extent. dishonesty is
not nm exceptional and temporary, hut gen-
efai and permanent element Of our mercantile
system.
1t is no pleasure to quote opinions 50 dn1nag-
ing to the commercial morality Of great No.
ton; nor arc our people, who hare copied
only too faithfully the examples Of the English,
to look for justification Of their fsauds in The
w1ong~doing Of others, There is undoubtedly
room for improvement on each side Of the
water. We reproduce tho Indictment which
the reviewer las framed, only u reprod Of
those snarlers who find in Amarica the only
homo Of the large and small vices by which the
commercial world is dishonored :
- 4 xex Yoek Merchant has purchased