Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-03-19

/ From, the Richmond Whig
e. Do our law makers ever read anything but
their own speeehes7 Have they ever heard Of
iphilOsophy backing by exampls % Their
! legislation furnishes but mesgar proof of the
wisdom to be gained By consulting the pages
Of history. We commend to them the fellow
ing extract FROM M5tley's History Of the United
Netherlsnds which viii show the follyof sstab-
fishing q maximum Of prices for provisions, and
incidentally, the stupidity Of imprsssments,
without pFUpef compensation. Antwerp was
closely 'besieged by Philips great captain, the
.PEiace 9f Parma. Ths historian relates how
ths burgpmas.srs brought On stzrVati6h By un-
visa laws. He says ;.9A --H
The navigation Of the riger-~alth0ugh fn1s-
dsd aud rendered dangerous by the forts which
Parma hRid alopg the bsnks-was stilI open
and go long IS tho price Of corn iin Antzsrn re-,
manned thfee or four times as high as the sum
t9r which il could be purchased 10 Holland aud
Aealand, ! tbers vas plentyof dare devil skippers
rea1y 70 bring carg0es. Fleets Of hV boats con
voyed BY armed vessels, vera parpstually run
ming the gaantlet. S6arp actions On shore. be-
tFesH the forts Of the patriots and those Of Par
"a which were al intermiRgled pFomiscuOGslY
/ allo1'g the banks, and amphibious and most
bloody epcouute-s on ship board dyke and IN
the stEsam itself, between the wild ZealsnfIers
and the 4sree pikerhen Of Italy and Spain. were
Of repeated occurrence. Many q tagging craft
fell into the enemy's hands, when, as a matter Of
course, the men, women ard children, on board,
were horribly muhlated By the Spsniards and
were taen sent drifting in thair boat with the
tIde-their arms, legs and ears Topped off-up to
the city ia ndeI that the dangerous nature Of
this provision trade might be fully illustrated.
es that tratfie went on Il would have con-
continued untif Antwerp had been fully pro
visioned Tor more than year, had not tie city
afff tfrrrfff A. tbo ,-f- Z IL
thought proper to issue orders for its regulation
On the R5ih of October, a census was taken.
when che number Of persons inside tbe walls
was +oa4d 10 Be ninety thousand For this
population it was estimated that three hundred
thousand veertels, or about nine hundred thau-
sand bushels Of corn, would be required annu-
ally. The grain vas coming in very fast, not
sZifhstapding the peTilOus nature Of the trade;
toI wheat could be bought In Holland for fifsy
forms the last. or about fifteen pence sterling
the bushel, while it vas worth 6ve or six forms
the veerts, OF about four shaings the bushel in
Antwerp
The magistrates now committed follymore
s.upeEdops than it seemed possible for human
creatures under such Circumstances, to compass
-IheJ established q maximum upon corn. The
shippers Who had run their CaTgoes through the
gsaHtlst, Rll the way from Flushing to Antwerp
foUuds on their arrival that instead of being re-
wardsd, aOcaTling to the natural laws Of supply
and demand, they were required 10 exchange
tlair wheat, rye, butter aad beef against the ex-
act sum which the board Of schopeqs thought
proper to consider a reasonable remuneration.
Moreover in oIdsr.to prevent the accumulation
of provisions in private magazines, it was
enacted that al consumers CT gTain should be
compelled to make their purchases dirsotly from
the ships. These two measures were almost as
fatal IS the preservation Of ths Baw gsren dyke,
in the interest of the butchers Winter and fam
inc were staring the city IN the face, and the
maximum now stood sentinel at the gate to pre-
vent The sdmissjon Of food. Ths traffic ceased
without q struggle. Parma himself could rot
better have arranged the blockade.
Ths butchers abiding 20 the foregoing extract
were paFesl-of Wisseres, who opposed the
piercing Of the Bluw garen dyke, by which the
sea would have been let in, 90 that the fleets Of
Holland and Zealand, laden with provisions and
munitions Of war could have eOmeito the very
walls Of Antwerp, and Payms's herculesn Ia
bors to close the Scheit, by means Of his fs-
nous bridge and his numerous forts, would
have. been labor thrown away The butchers
carried their point, the dyke was to be pierced,
Parma built his bridge and Antwerp fell. Have
we no 'bnicheTs' in the Confederate Congress
and the Virginia LegislsiUye, and is there no
dyke, IN sle-shape of HnWise- -enaetments and i'm
pressments. TO prevent the production Of feOd
and to encourage tho eoEesalneat Of suppliesl