New-York tribune., 1872-04-26
PRINCIPLE and FLIPPANCY.

inst. to signalize an era in its editorial conduct
by a restatement of "The Cornerstone OF Our
"Faithr That faith, We need hardly say, Is
Free Trade-no paltry, shame-faced JugslN OF
"Revenue Reform" but the straight-out.
manly thing. In making its profession, 1he
Post forcibly, frankly said:
Free Trade with us is not q question OF expedlcncy
but question OF radical principle, Intimately connected
with our deepest political convictions and which 1t I'M
possible to separate from the general phuosopny oI
politics Maintaining tho broadest democratic theory OF
the nature and functions Of government, we are
bound to hold that all possessed of certain
natural rights,-rights which inhere In their very
manhood and which are, therefore, anterior and
superior to tho existence OF Governments These
rights are-frst tho right to liberty, or the
right which every man has to the unimpeded exer
else OF his faculties as a man; second, the right 10
property or the right which every has to the enjoy
ment of goods created by such exercise OF his acu
ties and third the right to justice, or the right which
every man has to demand Of his fellows IN tho social
state that they share equally In the burdens and ad
yantages OF the social state and to their protection
against the encroachments of Others by tho common
| authority.
at an inevitable deduction from this that all men
have the right to apply their labor where they think
best TO derive from the largest returns which they can
get and to the results in the way most agreeable 10
their taste and sense OF duty. Government is author
lied to interfere with freedom only TO assure the similar
rights Of Others and provide for its own support In
the prosecution OF the task 1t may tax Its subjects TO
defray the expenses Of legitimate and efficient organ
zation but for other purpose Whether these taxes
are assessed directly by excises or indirectly by GUS
TOMS they can have but proper end, which Is tho
raising Of revenue with tho least oppression and the
least to the community IL they are laid for other
ends taxes laid unjustly laid lthey are
laid without authority; they are an abuse and wrong,
| o1izofl MT
| state"
| All this THE TRIBUNE clearly apprehends.
We nOn-c0ncur i'm it, because we believe the
rghtful sphere of government broader and
more beneficent than that asserted by Tho
Post. We cannot doubt QOr illustration) that
| Napoleon /. and his Successors in the govern
ment of France were wise and right in cre-
ating her Beet Sugar industry, whereby mil
lions of dollars worth have been added to her
annual product, and that universal luxury,
Sugar. brought within the reach of her peasantry,
who hardly knew the taste of it before. We
do not question the sincerity, the integrity Of
| The Post: we only insist that its political
economy is narrow, partial, and sadly needs
reconstructon Hence we responded to the
propositions above quoted as follows:
"The Erenng Post will oblige us II 1t will distinctly say
that does does not condemn the construction of the
Erie and Champain Canals by our state as a violation of
| the natural right Of every man TO contribute or not
contribute deay the cost of such enterprise as he
| shall it."
| To this question, Tile Post makes the fol-
lowing reply:
ave have an habitua disposition to Obige our cOtem
porares of the press confess that get
through hair this solemn question. The Erie and
| Champlan Canals dead and buried long ago; no
one, believe proposes to raise them out Of their
graves and why should be called, at this late day
and these busy times, to give opinion OF the pro-
| prety Of their construction in the antcdiuyian
| period OF our history, puzzles tho will. as Ham,
| let says. Had been living when those gigantic
| bitches were undertaken, should probably have
| had an opinion of them; we should OF
the dongs OF Cheops OF the other Egyptian fellow
who built the pyramids; but just now we are too busy in
getting the Cincinnati and Philadelphia Conventions to
follow the lead of the people and adopt Free Trade. to
90 back to the venerable and antquated topics which
| TIE TRIBUNE proposes
Let it be understood that do not mean to speak
with the slightest dsrespect OF the Erie and Champlan
Canals feel none they are as irreproachabe as any
canals acquainted with in their day and genera
tion they have served the public well and have
doubt that they constructed In the best methods
practicable In those earlier eras but do object 20
making their old age miserable by converting them into
vehicles mot OF freight but Of conundrums and other
verbal catches. The ancient Rip should be carefully re-
turned to his native mountains or perhaps to Capt
Lahrbush, with whom he might compare remembrances
| of the good old days.
cit is possible that THE TRIBUNE in asking us about
Erie and Champlain elicit general opinion
OF the prOpriey Of the State engaging In works OF in
ternal Improvement 1t is called just Mr.. Fish asks
for consequential damages. though he do mt want
sequentia damages, and only wants an abstract udg
ment Well, shall satisfy TUE TRIBUNE and tell 1t
twill 10 af he 1in1D md ind
those luminous discussions which for thirty years
more-as far back. indeed, the birth Of Erie and
| Champlain-made 1t high political authority. 1t will
find tIat we say distinctly Yes Having given the
answer, have a question In our turn: VIII THE
TRIBUNE obllge us by telling us what or what not it is
! or 1t is not, going to do aboutitP"
Comments by The Tribune.
The State of New-York saw fit, sixty or
seventy years ago, to embark in the construc-
tion of navigable waterways, connecting her
| chief river Oh the south with Lakes Cham
plain, Ontario, Erie, on the northeast, north
| and northwest. In SO doing, she subjected
| her people to taxation and debt for objects
which nearly half of them secuted as unde-
sirable or unattainable. That portion of her
people protested against the right of the
majority to drag them into this fOrmid-
able enterprise (fully equivalent to an
| expenditure of Five Hundred Millions
of Dollars for like purposes at this
day. for an object wholly outside of what
they then pronounced, and The Post now de-
clares, the legitimate sphere of government
which they insisted was only calculated to
aggrandize the few at the expense of the
many. They demanded that those who wanted
bitches should dig them at their own expense
and not saddle the cost on their protesting
neighbors. In short, there is no consideration